Where We Left Off
by Jaded Catalyst
Summary: When Rosalina meets someone her age, tensions break out in the band and she quits. Now, with help from her new friend, she must choose whether to let her past decisions rule over her future or gain the confidence it takes to find her own path.
1. Introduction

**Introduction**

**_On the outside…_**

"I'm two years older," she had always said.

Rosalina had never been secure about the age difference between her and Nat. She always told herself not to listen to what other's said about her, but the more she heard, the less she was able to take. Age was often times the main reason for Nat and Rosalina's arguments.

But it wasn't as though they were an actual couple in the first place.

Rosalina could never find it in herself to call Nat her boyfriend, and he respected that. She was often shy about displaying any affection to him, especially now that the cameras were everywhere, and he also respected that.

Every time Rosalina broke down, Nat patiently waited for her to find herself again. He always made sure he was there for her when she was feeling vulnerable. He may have made his share of mistakes, but they were always because his heart was in the right place.

Around him, she felt safe. Despite her many insecurities, she always knew that Nat would be there for her. Although she could never be sure where their relationship was romantically, there was one thing that Rosalina had never doubted.

He would always be her safety net, her shirt to cry on, and her shoulder to lean on.

Nat Wolff has been, and always would be, her best friend.

* * *

_**AN**: A lot of firsts in this story. This is my first shot at a multi-chapter fanfiction. This is the first time I've started a story without knowing **exactly** where it's going to go, word for word, scene for scene. This is also the first time that I'm [probably not going to use chapter names._

_The events in this story are based on the TV series up to Sidekicks and excluding the very very first movie (because I haven't seen it). So basically, the events follow the timeline of season 1, Battle of the Bands, and Sidekicks. Anything that happens in Season 2 or after may or may not make it into the story._

_Reviews are always appreciated. Enjoy!_

* * *

_**Disclaimer**: I do not own The Naked Brothers Band. Nat Wolff, Rosalina (Allie) DiMeco, and all characters in the show are not mine. All original characters belong to me._

_Dedicated to Ty and Cyrus._


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

This hadn't been the first time that our friendship became strained due to the sudden appearance of another guy. It was worrying me though; this had been happening much more often these days. It'd been hard, though. Ever since I entered high school, I felt an obvious gap begin to form. Nat and I never saw each other during the school day, and I had a completely different group of friends. I knew that the band hung out during lunch and in between classes.

Meanwhile, I'm sitting in my high school world with my high school friends. It was bad enough that I was the only girl in the band. David and Thomas had yet to grow out of the "girls are gross" stage. At least Nat was always there to make me feel welcome. I couldn't help but wonder, though. Why was I even there?

With two keyboardists, a guitarist, and a cellist, they would be fine without their bassist, wouldn't they? I never knew the answer to that question, and I never asked. Some things were better left unsaid.

I couldn't blame Nat for worrying about me. After the Bobby Love incident, I learned to trust his judgment a bit more, but after the prom incident, I also learned that Nat had unintentionally alienated me in his mind.

I always tried to keep our age difference from being an issue, even though it sometimes came up anyway. I had never realized, however, that Nat also found it to be an issue. After prom, he apologized for pressing me to go. He told me that he didn't want to tie me down, but didn't realize that he had been pushing me away. We forgave each other. Little did we know how much that moment would change us.

We became closer than ever, but I had never felt so alone. Nat had set me apart from everyone else – the last thing I wanted from him.

The media did little to help. After the Bobby Love incident, reporters, including Matt Pinfield, flocked around us constantly. Nat and I were always on the headlines, and they always managed to fabricate some story based on everything from a small smile to a supposed wink. This time, though, it was really bad. One of Matt Pinfield's reporters had taken a picture of me laughing while talking to a relatively cute boy during our tour. The headline read, "_ROSALINA, A FLIRT?"_

The reaction was explosive. Newspapers ran, false eyewitnesses testified, and soon the public was hearing stories of some new boyfriend I supposedly had behind Nat's back. Then again, Nat and I were never officially a couple to begin with.

That didn't stop him from feeling betrayed, however. It usually took a lot for Nat to be swayed by the media, but there had never been a story so big before. Supposed witnesses were telling papers that I had been dating the boy for months and a false make-out video had leaked throughout the internet. That was obviously fake though, because the time and date that the video was taken was the same time as one of our concerts, which I had undoubtedly been performing at.

It was an uncomfortably silent bus ride. Everyone else had fallen asleep and Nat sat across from me, staring out the window. I was actually grateful for the silence; the last time we spoke with each other, all we did was yell and scream. An hour later and here we were, riding in silence to the next touring spot. My mind kept fumbling for the right words to say to make things right again, but I knew that nothing I said would turn things around. We've been fighting on and off for the past few months –sometimes without reason. This publicity folly was just another push in the wrong direction. Our friendship was fraying at the edges and I was scared.

All I could do was hope for the best. I had to trust in our friendship and believe that time will heal our wounds. I finally gave up on trying to speak with him and leaned back on my seat. As I closed my eyes to sleep, I saw in my mind a boy with unruly brown hair and sweet brown eyes staring back at me.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It had been one week since Matt Pinfield's story was released. Our tour was coming to an end, and Nat and I still hadn't made peace with each other. I wasn't sure why we were still so angry; the story had already been confirmed false and the boy was just an assistant at the concert. For some reason, though, our anger didn't fade, and I was starting to get sick of it. The last concert of the tour was in two days, and this was not how I wanted to end my summer.

Having slept throughout the entire bus ride, I was restless tonight. I wandered down the hallways and stopped in front of Nat's hotel room. Beams of light seeped through the cracks of the door; I guess he wasn't getting any sleep either. I raised my hand to knock on the door but decided against it. Just as I began to leave, the door opened and Nat stepped out.

"Rosalina?" he said, quietly. "What are you doing up this late?"

"I could ask you the same question."

He smiled slightly and shut the door behind him. "I was actually going for a walk."

"Oh," I said awkwardly. This conversation was going nowhere fast. "Goodnight, then." As I made my way back down the hall, Nat called out to me.

"Wait." He shifted his wait uncomfortably. "Do you want to join me?"

I paused and looked at him. He gave me a small, crooked smile and pleaded me with his soft eyes. This was the Nat Wolff I had always known.

"Sure."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

We made our way to a nearby park and decided to walk he path around it. The night was cool and not a soul was in sight. Nat hadn't said anything since we started walking, and I knew that if I ever wanted to settle this fight, I would have to be the first to speak up.

"Hey, Nat?"

"Yeah?"

"What are we doing?"

"What do you mean? We're walking," he said with a slight smirk. At least he wasn't mad anymore.

"You know what I mean," I replied, pushing him playfully.

"No, really. What do you mean?"

"I mean about us. Are you still mad at me?"

He remained silent for a moment and all I could here was our footsteps. "No," he finally said. "I haven't been for a long time."

"Me, too."

"I was just scared, you know?"

"Scared?"

"Yeah. Now that you're in high school, we don't see each other anymore. How could I be sure that the story wasn't true? How could I be sure that you weren't seeing some other guy that I didn't know about?"

I wasn't sure how to respond to what Nat had said. Part of me was flattered because it meant that he cared and wanted to protect, but another part of me was insulted. He had unintentionally categorized me as his.

I, Rosalina DiMeco, belonged to no one.

But I didn't want to fight with him anymore. Maybe I was just thinking about it too much.

"Nat, you don't have to worry about me, okay? We're friends, and you know that I don't like keeping secrets from you. You're just going to have to trust me, okay?"

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. We should really be getting back soon. We never know where the cameras might be."

"Yeah. Sometimes I wish it were easier to be famous."

"Or maybe just not be famous at all?"

He turned his head sharply. "What?"

"Nothing," I lied. I wasn't sure where that thought came from, and I didn't want to know. The band was a part of me and I didn't know what I'd do without it.

"Alright," he said distantly. I couldn't tell what was on his mind, but it didn't matter because he seemed to shrug off the thought. "I'll race you back to the hotel."

I grinned back at him. High school really had changed things for us. Nothing would ever be the same between us, but at least, for now, I could be sure that things were okay.

"Bring it on, Nat Wolff."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The last concert was a hit, and it was probably made all the better since Nat and had I made up. I was having a great night, but I should have known that it wasn't going to last. After winding down, we traded our individual rooms for a hotel suite reserved just for us. Thomas and David were playing foosball while Qaasim waited for his turn to play. Nat and I were sitting quietly in the corner; I was always exhausted after every concert, and usually ended up falling asleep on Nat's shoulder.

It wasn't as though I actually liked him in that way or anything. It was just complicated.

"You two snuggling back there?" Qaasim asked, his back to us.

Here they go again, always making fun of Nat and me.

"I guess you two made up last night," he said smugly, obviously implying that something happened between us.

"Just cut it out, you guys," Nat snapped.

It was the same conversation almost every time, but for some reason, this one felt different to me. Maybe I was just tired or it was because I just got out of a fight with Nat, but I was feeling especially irritable that night. In the middle of another one of Thomas's taunts, I left. Because I didn't feel like sleeping in the same room as the guys tonight, I made my way to the bus. Nat was the only one who knew that I sometimes I stayed there when I wanted to be alone during the tours. My sweet reprieve was quickly interrupted when I heard someone knocking on the side of the bus. Expecting it to be Nat, I walked over to the door and opened it. Surprisingly, it wasn't who I thought it would be.

Instead, a well-built boy, only slightly taller than Nat, stood with a flashlight in his hand. He had messy brown hair, organized into many thin, long spikes. He had light, chocolate brown eyes and a soft gaze that reminded me of a young child's. I immediately recognized him as the boy who I had been talking to when that infamous picture was taken.

"I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you," the boy said, his voice smooth and with a ring like a bell.

"Don't worry about it. Do you need something?"

"No," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably. "I just saw someone walk into the bus. Since it was so late at night, I just wanted to make sure nothing was going on."

"Oh. Well I just wanted to get some privacy. That's all." I smiled. I used to think that Nat was shy, but this boy topped him easily.

He stammered slightly, fumbling with his words. "And I'm sorry about that article. I hope it didn't cause you too much trouble."

"It's okay. I'm pretty used to stories like that by now. You know how reporters are."

"Right…" the boy trailed off, "Nice meeting you again. I'll let you have your alone time, now."

"Wait," I called back to him. I mentally reprimanded myself for stopping him, but I didn't want to leave this conversation on such an awkward note. "What's your name?"

"Richie," he said sheepishly.

I wanted to laugh. It was such a boyish name, and it seemed to fit him well. "What are you doing here anyways? I never see the same people more than once on the same tour."

"Oh," he laughed, seeming to ease up a little bit. "I work in with in the entertainment industry. I go around and assist touring bands. My last tour just finished over in Maine, where I met you. I'm headed back home, and this is one of my stops."

"Wow. You're a bit young to be touring so much, aren't you?"

"And you're not?"

"Touché."

We shared a short laugh. It was then I noticed that Richie really _was_ kind of cute, but I shook off the thought. That was what started the whole ordeal.

"This is your last concert, right Ms. DiMeco?"

"Call me, Rosalina. Ms. DiMeco sounds too weird."

"True, but there are some stars out there who get really mad when you don't treat them with respect."

"That is true," I admitted.

"So you're headed home, too. If you don't mind me asking, where do you live?"

"New York. What about you?"

"I used to live up in Maine, but my parents just moved to New York. I'm headed back there, too."

"That's so cool! Where are you going to school?"

"I just enrolled as a sophomore at Amigos high school."

"No way! I'm going to be a sophomore there, too."

"This is getting a little creepy," Richie joked, seeming to be completely relaxed now. "Well, I should be getting back. I guess I'll see you when school starts. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. Nice meeting you, Richie."

"Nice meeting you, too," he paused and winked, "Ms. DiMeco."

I went back into the bus with a smile on my face. I felt a bit like a fool for feeling such a connection with a stranger, especially one who had been part of the reason I fought with Nat in the first place. Still, Richie seemed so sweet and sincere. Then again, so did Bobby Love when I first met him. I knew I should talk to Nat about Richie, but the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to tell him. Nat would only get jealous, and I didn't want to fight with him again. Besides, I had only just met Richie. Even though we were going to the same school, who knew if we were really going to talk to each other?

I decided not to tell Nat just yet. He didn't have to know everything about my life. As I said before, Rosalina DiMeco belongs to no one.

* * *

AN: I'm actually getting very excited about this story. I have a general idea of where its going, so I'm looking forward to finishing it. I'm hoping that this will help build a respectable community for NBB, because it definately could use one. Check my profile for more info on that! 


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

There had never been a time that I didn't question my own life. I often wondered why things turned out as they did. Now that my second year of high school has started, I questioned things even more. Having never truly carved a deep niche in my high school society, I had always believed I was still a middle school kid at heart. Of course, I had some friends here and there, but I spent so much time with the band that I sometimes forgot about the age difference. Then there were times that the guys were so immature that I wondered why I wasn't hanging around with people my own age.

Maturity was a strange thing, and I had never been sure of where I fell on the spectrum. Maybe that's what high school was all about: finding yourself. It was about deciding who you were and who you wanted to become.

The problem was I had no idea what I was going to do with my future. I loved being part of the band, but I sometimes found myself wondering what it was like to be normal. I wanted to know what it was like to go through a full, uninterrupted year of school, go to the mall with a couple of girl friends, and maybe even have a real boyfriend.

It wasn't as though I didn't appreciate having Nat around. He was my best friend and his attempts to make us something more were flattering. It was complicated, though. No matter how hard I tried to ignore the difference in age, it always came up. By the time Nat was a freshman, I would be a junior getting ready to apply for college. I didn't know if I was even going to college. Was I supposed to let Nat and the band hold me back from pursuing other dreams I might have?

It was strange to think of what things would be like it my life didn't center around the band. I knew I was lucky to be able to live the dream, but I also wanted to know what else I was made of. There had to be more to my life than just being the bassist of the Naked Brothers Band.

Tenth grade had only begun, so I still had three more years to straighten things out. However, Time had never been kind the confused and insecure.

This year was going to be a living Hell.

* * *

_**AN:** As some of you may know, I had a lot of PMs sent out the a few days ago, talking about my C2 and the community I want to build for NBB. However, they may have said a few things that I didn't exactly mean to say. I had sent a draft of the message to my friend, because I was busy at the time, and she sent it out for me. Incidentally, she cleaned the message up and added a few things and then sent them out. When she sent me a carbon copy of the message she had sent, I felt it was a bit too harsh here and there._

_I won't be too specific, but I'd like to first apologize for the very last bit of it. I don't want to slander anyone's name out there. I had only mentioned a slight concern to my friend, who is a bit paranoid of internet workings, and so she added the "P.S" section because she was concerned about me. It was nice of her, but I felt that sending that in every message was like mud slinging, which I don't want to do._

_Also, she made it the community sound much stricter than it really is. I know I want quality, but that comes with time. **All NBB fans and supporters are welcome as part of the community, but the actual fictions accepted will be under some amount of scrutiny.**_

_I just wanted to clear things up. Thanks for reading!_


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

One week into school and we already had rehearsals and recording sessions lined up throughout the month. Our tour just ended and now we were rushing to work on a new album. How Nat managed to write so many songs in such a short amount of time would forever be a mystery to me. The school days had been passing by so quickly. This was probably because my mind had been drifting off in almost all of my classes; the first few days of school were all the same anyway.

The day ended almost as soon as it had begun and I was rushing out to get to practice. It had been like this all week, so I didn't have the chance to meet any of my classmates or make any friends. It didn't matter, though, because this was how it was every year. Then again, it was funny how whenever you forgot about things, they always came rushing back at you like a bullet.

Or in my case, a swinging door.

It didn't actually hit me that hard, but it was enough to knock me back a few steps. Then, like the smooth-talking, shy boy coming straight from a storybook, Richie appeared as I was backpedalling in a fight to keep my balance. Fortunately, he was sturdy enough to take the hit. It wasn't until I heard a muffled groan that I realized I had accidentally elbowed my savior in the ribs.

"I'm so sorry," I said quickly, not realizing who it was it first. "Richie?"

"Yeah," he gasped, still catching his breath. "When you said you'd see me around, this was not how I imagined it would go."

"Are you alright?" I said with some amusement. He was right; it hadn't been the most ideal encounter. It was funny, nonetheless.

"I've been better. Did you know you have a bony elbow?"

"I'll remember that next time."

"There's going to be a next time?"

"Maybe. Where have you been? I haven't seen you all week."

Richie seemed to have fully recovered from my unintentional assault, and finally managed a small smile. "It was a messy transfer, that's all I'll say. I thought I saw you yesterday, but you disappeared all of the sudden."

"Yeah, I have rehearsals crammed this entire month, and I just happen to be running late to one right now."

"Then you better hurry up and give me your phone number before you're even later."

This guy was good, but I decided that it would be more fun to give him a hard time. "What?"

His shy side instantly made itself known as he rubbed the back of his head and shifted his weight slightly. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that. I just thought maybe we could hang out some time or maybe eat lunch tomorrow. I don't know anyone in this school except for you. Kind of."

I smiled back at him. "Trust me, neither do I."

"All the better. Hurry up or you'll be late."

My mind suddenly dropped back down to reality when I realized what time it was. We quickly exchanged numbers and goodbyes and I ran off. It looked like I might make a friend this year after all. A small grin stayed on my face as I ran around the block. They were definitely going to kill me.

But it was worth it.

* * *

_**AN:** Richie is slowly become one of my favorite characters to write about out of all the charaters I've created, including my original work: **Unspoken Oblivion.** (Check that out, too if you want. Links are in my profile. ) Yay for smooth-talking, shy boys! He really is starting to remind me of the guy I based him off of._

_Anyway, if you guys haven't heard, I'm working to build a strong community for NBB. I've created a C2 and am trying to find people to help build it up. There are a lot of good NBB fics around here, but many of them are incomplete. I'm hoping to get more fics written, completed, and enjoyed. Check out the C2 and feel free to PM me if you want to discuss it further._

_Enjoy!_


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I was late. I already knew that.

So was it really necessary for the guys to bring it up every five seconds?

"What do you do after school anyway, Rosalina? " Thomas said in between songs. He was always the first one to open his big mouth and get the rest of them going.

David, Thomas's living shadow, was usually the next one to jump in. "Yeah. The studio's just around the corner from the school."

"I'm aware of that," I said curtly; my patience was running thin.

Cooper, always the voice of reason, was also starting to get annoyed with the constant interruptions. "Come on, guys. Let's just rehearse."

"Yeah. Leave her alone," Nat said. "We have to get the bridge down."

"Hey, don't get mad at us, Nat," Qaasim replied defensively. It looked like everyone was against me today. "It's not our fault Rosalina's been late everyday this week."

"She was even later than usual today," added David.

"Guys, we have to rehearse."

Things were starting to get tense and our voices were getting louder and louder. Soon, we were all shouting and it was hard to tell who was talking anymore. Thomas, David, and Qaasim were all yelling at me while Nat and Cooper were trying to get everyone back in order. Alex was always the mute during these fights, which I was slightly grateful for. I wasn't above all the arguing either; instead, I was at the center of it.

"If you guys don't cut it out, I'm leaving."

"Fine, leave! It's not like you're here on time, anyways."

"Come on, guys. Cut it out!"

"What, do you think you're too good for us just because you're in high school?"

"Thomas, David! Cut it out!"

"Why are you always defending her, Nat?"

I swore that if my bass didn't have a strap, I would have thrown it at Thomas's face. "Just stop it, alright?"

"What are you getting so defensive about, Rosalina? Were you flirting with a bunch of hot high school guys or something?"

Maybe if I had thrown the bass at Thomas then I could have thrown the strap at Qaasim for that last one. I then realized that I had missed a critical moment for a comeback and everyone was looking at me, including Nat. I could tell by the slight narrowing of his eyes that he was a bit suspicious of my silence. It was a mistake on my part, and I did the only thing I could.

I left.

I didn't even bother to look back to see if they were trying to stop me. I simply put my bass down, grabbed my backpack, and left. It wasn't the first time I walked out on them, which was probably the worst part about it. I knew that I would come crawling back to them tomorrow, only to get made fun of once again.

It sucked being the odd one out.

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There was one thing about Nat that always got on my nerves at the worst possible times. Whenever he knew I was angry, he always needed to talk it out, even if he wasn't the cause of it. I lost count of how many times my phone rang with his name lit up on the screen. Cooper had also called me a few times, but ended up text messaging me instead. Practice tomorrow had been cancelled, and I didn't need to ask why.

I sat on my bed, staring at the ceiling when my phone rang once again. I really wasn't in the mood to talk to any of the band members at this point. Resisting the urge to throw my phone across my room proved to be worth it when I suddenly received a text message from Richie.

"I'm bored," it read.

Smiling in amusement, I contemplated answering it. It had been such a random message and the timing was perfect. It took a while for me to type the message; I was more used to talking than texting. "What are you doing right now?"

The response was also delayed a bit, which meant that he wasn't very good at this either. "Nothing. That's why I'm bored. Are you free to talk?"

"Yeah, but I don't really feel like it right now."

"Alright then. Call me tomorrow if you're in the mood. Maybe we can hang out or something. Goodnight."

That actually surprised me a bit. Either Richie didn't feel like he knew me enough to ask what was wrong, or he was respecting my privacy. It didn't matter, though, because the idea of being left alone was completely alien to me. He had made it seem so simple, and didn't make a big deal about me being in a bad mood.

Maybe it wasn't such a big deal, after all. I was being a bit sensitive about it, and I was probably taking it a bit harder than I should have.

I was already feeling a little better when my poor, underappreciated phone rang yet again. The caller ID didn't surprise me, but I wasn't as angry as I was a few minutes ago. He was only calling to make sure I was okay, and it wasn't right for me to keep ignoring him. After a moment of thought, I flipped open my phone.

"Hi, Nat."

* * *

_AN: Just got those who are wondering, I got the idea of the band fight from 'Battle of the Bands' when Rosalina walks out because they're being immature and mean to Bobbu Love. I then got the text message conversation idea from times when I'm bored and I decide to text people, telling them that I'm bored._


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It was the first free Saturday morning that I've had in a long time, and I had no idea what to do with it. I had never been one to sleep in late on days like this, so I was left to count the dust bunnies floating about my room at eight in the morning. After talking with Nat yesterday, I was actually in a good mood today, but I doubted that any of my friends would be awake at this time of day. Most of them were usually very cranky when woken up to early, so I didn't want to disturb any of them.

Except maybe one.

Perhaps it was because I was feeling especially bold today, but I decided to take Richie up on his offer to hang out. As I waited for him to pick up, I amused myself with the idea that he probably wasn't expecting me to call him back so early in the morning. Surprisingly, he picked up rather quickly.

"Hello?"

I was slightly disappointed in his tone of voice; it sounded like he was wide-awake. "Good morning, Richie. Am I bothering you right now?"

"Not at all. Did you want something?"

"I was wondering if you were free today."

"Let's see. It's unreasonably early on Saturday morning. Only crazy people like you and I are actually awake. I just moved here and have no friends," he replied very matter-of-factly. "I think I might have a slot open. What do you have planned?"

I smiled; he seemed much more outgoing when I wasn't talking to him in person. "Anything's fine with me. My dad's working and I have no rehearsals today. I'm fine with whatever."

"How about I come pick you up in fifteen minutes and we go out to eat or something?"

"Pick me up? You can drive?"

"Yeah. I'm a year behind in school. Most people my age would be juniors, not sophomores."

It was hard for me to imagine Richie, a boy with such soft eyes and a childish name, as being a full year older than I was. "I see. Well, it sounds good to me. I'll see you in a few."

"It would help if you told me where you lived, first."

"Right," I said dumbly. I couldn't believe that I had let something that important slip my mind. "I live next to that really big, brick apartment complex down the street from the school. I'm the one with the black doors. You can't miss it. Just call me when you get there and I'll come out.

"Okay. I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Bye," I chirped as I closed my phone, said goodbye to my dust bunnies, and sprang out of bed to get ready for the day.

* * *

_ AN: Yeah, I know this chapter is short. It was originally combined with the chapter after this one, but it ended up being too long. Don't worry, though. Chapter 8 is longer than this one._

_Also, the legal driving age in NY is 16. I checked. _


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Fast food, although atrociously unhealthy, was always quick and easy to obtain, especially when having too much fun to actually care. After debating the superiority of different condiments and fighting over the last fry, Richie and I were left with nothing to do. In an act of desperation, we decided to head over to the nearest mall in hopes of finding something interesting there.

I hadn't gone to this mall in over a year and it changed drastically since the last time I saw it. I was surrounded by stores I had never heard of and various stands with useless products and somewhat amusing trinkets. We walked around the mall, playing with toys meant for children half our age and poking fun at the outrageous fashions displayed in some of the store windows. I was even able to convince him to get into one of those photo booths with me and take a few pictures.

I was having the time of my life.

"You know, I haven't had this much fun in a long time," I admitted to him as we were waiting for our pictures to print.

"Really?"

"Yeah. This is the kind of fun girls have with each other when they go to the mall. I don't have that many friends that are girls, so I never really had the chance to do things like this."

Richie looked at me with his gentle, brown eyes and raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying?"

I laughed, realizing the implication of what I had just said. "What do you think I'm saying?"

"I'm afraid to answer that," he responded, rubbing the back of his head. "Hey, I think they're playing one of your songs."

Sure enough, a song of ours was playing over the mall speakers. I frowned as soon as I realized it was "Beautiful Eyes," a song that always brought up mixed feelings for me. Before this song, I never fully realized how strange it was to play in a band that sang songs about one of its own members. Nat had always written songs for me, and I found each of them flattering but never anything more. However, when he wrote "Beautiful Eyes," I realized how much he mattered to me.

It wasn't a romantic jealousy. I think I was more hurt to think that Nat was keeping a secret from me. The thought of Nat having a girlfriend was not as upsetting as the thought of him feeling the need to hide a girlfriend from me. My worry was relieved when I found out that the song was written for me, but the song was never easy for me to hear or perform.

It always reminded me of how much it hurt to know that a secret was being kept from me.

I then realized how Nat might have felt about me. Now that I was in high school, he could never be sure of what I was telling him and what I wasn't. Even now, I was keeping Richie a secret from him. Although I had only just met Richie and we were only starting to get to know each other, I worried about how Nat would react to the thought of me having a male friend, considering that my new friend was also the one whose picture was once in headlines with mine.

My cheerful mood was quickly shattered, and now I just wanted to get out of there. "Hey, Richie?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind taking me home right now?"

He seemed skeptical. "No problem," he said with uncertainty, "but why? Is there something wrong?"

"I'm just not in the mood for anything fun right now."

"Would you rather do something more boring? We could do that, too, you know."

I flashed him a small, half-smile so that he wouldn't worry about me; I doubted that it worked. "No, that's okay. I just want to go home."

"Alright. Let's go," he shrugged.

I was grateful that he didn't press any further for answers and dropped me back at home without question. After exchanging our goodbyes, I walked back into my room and fell onto my bed, once again left to start at the floating dust bunnies.

Throughout the whole time I spent with Richie, I had completely forgotten about everything else. I was careless. I never even thought of any possible cameras or reporters that may have caught me. I didn't even once think about the band until the very end. It was as if I never had to worry about those things in the first place.

It was as though I was living a normal life, and now I wasn't sure what to think of my day.

* * *

_AN: Don't you just love days like that? I love going to mall just to walk around and look, but not buy, things. Those photo booths are also a lot of fun when you're already high off life. I've had days like these with so many of my friends that I just had to include it. Yay!_


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Despite how much I enjoyed complaining about the fame, fortune, and hard work that came with being a part of the band, I think I loved playing in it more than I did whining about it. I would still love it even if we weren't famous; music would always be a huge part of my life. Most of the time, when school hadn't previously ruined our day, rehearsals didn't feel like work at all. It was just as it should be – a group of friends productively fooling around with a bunch of musical instruments.

After starting the school year off on such a bad note, the rest of the month was going great. I had been running into Richie all over the campus and we had eaten lunch together almost every day. I'm not sure what kind of talk Cooper and Nat had with the rest of the band, but the relentless taunting of my lateness had virtually disappeared. Rehearsals were fun again, and I was no longer a loner at my school. Things were going much more smoothly than I could have ever imagined.

The best weeks were always over much too quickly; it was the last Friday of the month before I knew it. For one reason or another, we had all come down with a bad case of the giggles during practice. Even Cooper couldn't control himself when one of Alex's drumsticks slipped out of his hand, hitting the high-hat and making a loud crash. The moment was made even funnier when the noise caused Qaasim to jump and scream in a rather high voice into his microphone.

"Today's just not our day," Nat said cheerfully as our laughter died down.

"Sorry about that," Alex apologized with a smug grin aimed towards a red-faced Qaasim.

"You guys heard nothing," he said.

"Of course not. We totally didn't hear you scream like a girl."

"You mean that wasn't Rosalina?" David smiled.

We all shared another good laugh when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I checked the message and then noticed what time it was.

"Hey, Coop. You don't mind if I leave a little bit early?"

"I don't see why not. We're pretty much done here anyway."

"Do you need to be somewhere, Rosalina?"

I hesitated slightly before answering. Nat was always suspicious of my plans nowadays. I didn't blame him for it, but it was defiantly becoming more of a hassle to keep Richie a secret now that we were good friends. "Yeah. I have plans. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Luckily, the guys were finally learning how to mind their own business. However, I could still feel Nat's eyes drilling into my back as I walked out of the warehouse. Shrugging off the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, I quickly slid around the corner and into Richie's car; I never let him park in front of the warehouse because I didn't want him to be seen.

"How long are we going to have to pretend that I don't exist?" he asked, casually picking at his nails.

"Until I say so," I winked. "Seriously, though, I don't know. I'm just afraid of what they might think."

"I understand that, but they're more likely to think what you don't want them to think if they find out on their own. Would they really make such a big deal about you actually having a friend your own age?"

"No, but considering that you're a guy and that the rumors from that article haven't completely left people's minds yet, I'm still worried about telling them."

"True. It's not my place to say, anyways. Just try not to make a decision that you'd later regret."

We remained silent for a few minutes, staring through the windshield into blank space. Eventually, Richie turned on the ignition and the engine came to life. "Well, we should get going. My bags won't pack themselves."

"I can't believe that you're still touring this early on in the school year."

"Only for a week. I got a call yesterday that one of our guys couldn't be there for the last bit of the tour so I'm going to replace him for a few days."

"Sounds like a messy industry."

"You're a part of it, too. The entertainment business has always been messy."

"True."

"Right. I have to leave tomorrow morning, so let's get to work."

As Richie pulled away from the curb and made his way back to his house, A thought crossed my mind. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I've never been to your house before. You haven't really said anything about yourself since we met."

He was quiet for a second, and I wondered if it was wrong of me to ask. Before I had the chance to apologize, he spoke. "I don't usually tell people that much about myself. I just never felt it worth talking about. Then again, I've never really had any close friends before. I guess there's a first time for everything."

"Why don't you like to talk about it? I know that both of our lives aren't really what people would call normal, but it can't be that strange, right?"

"Well, it looks like you're in for quite a surprise."


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

I walked into Richie's house, not knowing what to expect. The layout was a bit strange, I'll admit. The front door was actually at the back of the house and lead straight into the living room, which also served to be his bedroom. A randomly placed tile area with a stovetop, refrigerator, and microwave was the only thing distinguishing what I assumed was the kitchen. With the exception of the bathroom, there seemed to be only one room in the entire house.

Richie threw his keys and jacket into the corner before noticing the strange look on my face. "Yeah, I know it's weird. Just have a seat on the couch. I'll grab us some drinks and then I'll explain, alright?"

I simply nodded and sat on the sofa, making note of the pillows and blankets neatly folded on the floor next to it. Was this where he slept?

After a few minutes, Richie sat next to me, carrying two mugs of hot chocolate. We sat in uncomfortable silence as I waited patiently for him to tell say what he wanted to say.

"Make yourself comfortable. It's a long story," he said eventually.

"They always are."

"Well, remember when we first met? You mentioned how I was a bit young to be touring around like I do."

"I remember."

"I was able to get the job because my dad was already in the industry. He was a drummer for a lot of different bands, none of them really gaining mainstream success, but few people could have been happier with their lives."

I could recognize the fondness Richie had for his dad by the way he talked about him. "He sounds like a great guy."

"He was," Richie nodded, "but I haven't even gotten started yet. It might be hard, but try not to say anything until I'm done. My dad was a wild, free spirited man touring all over the world with different bands, but everything changed when he met my mom. When I was born, my parents weren't married. They were young and confused, not knowing what to do with me. For the first few years of my life, my parents took care of me but still didn't want to marry each other. My dad took time off from his touring, but he couldn't stay away from the rock star scene for long. When I was five, he went on a short, country-round tour and decided to take my mom and me with him. After that short trip, my mom was instantly sick of the entertainment industry and wanted to settle down with a normal life. My dad, on the other hand, didn't want to me tied down by anything. Because she didn't want any reminder of her past, my mom let my dad take me.

"He enrolled me in independent study so I could tour with him. Although he wanted me to learn to be a musician like he was, he never stopped telling me how important it was to choose my own path. I wanted to make him proud, so I took up the guitar. However, it just wasn't for me. I was more interested in what happened behind the scenes than what was on stage. I remember the day I told him that I didn't want to be a rock star.

"I was about ten years old and scared of what he might think. He sat me down, looked me in the eye, and told me to do whatever I wanted to do. After that, he talked to a lot of different record companies and touring agencies. That's how I got my job.

"But after a while, he felt that I should also know what a normal life was like so that I would have the experience to choose any path that I wanted. He was able to contact my mom when I was twelve. After a lot of debating, she agreed to let me stay with her under the condition that I wouldn't be a burden. Her idea of not being burdened was building a large wall down her house. That was my section, and the rest was hers. It wasn't that bad, though, because I was always on tour so I spent more time on the road and in hotels than I did at my pitiful excuse for a home.

"Last summer, my dad used his money to buy my mom a new home in New York, also split in half like she requested. He got me enrolled in Amigos high school, and altered the house so that I would have at least something to live off of. He did all of this while on the road. I never know where he is anymore, but my dad is always finding ways to give me money, get me jobs, and support me even when my mom refuses to.

"This house is the one he bought for us. This wall behind us is the one built to separate me from my mom's side of the house. She gets the front door and I get the back door. We don't talk to each other and everything's fine. I basically live on my own, take care of myself, and with the exception of the occasional donation from my dad, I make my own money."

Another silence fell upon the room as I tried to process everything Richie had told me. I had never heard anything like this before, and it only made me respect him more. It must have been hard for him to share all of that with me. I felt as though this had brought us closer together. I stared into my mug, trying to think of a response to his amazing story.

"You know," he said, breaking me from my trance, "you can't drink hot chocolate by just staring at it. I've tried."

I smiled. "Sorry. I just don't know what to say."

"That's okay. It was nice to be able to tell someone though."

"Why? So you can get it off of your chest?"

"No. Now I know that if I die, there will be someone out there who knows me for all that I am," he winked. After a second of yet more silence, Richie coughed. "Sorry. I'm not used to talking that much. Now, if you're done trying to telepathically drink your hot chocolate, let's start packing."

"Right," I said, unable to wipe the grin from my face.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It had taken much longer for us to pack than we had expected. This was probably because we constantly stopped in the middle of everything for Richie to tell me stories of his various souvenirs and shirts he obtained on tours throughout the years. I was exhausted when he took me home, but was a bit sad that the day was over.

Or maybe it wasn't.

I walked toward my house, noticing that my dad's car was gone, but that didn't surprise me. He was basically nocturnal now that he worked nights. It had been hard for him to keep a steady job ever since he divorced my mom, but he tried hard and finally managed stick with a job, even though it meant that he was never awake or at home when I was. It didn't make too much of a difference to me, though, because I wasn't at home too often, either.

It was rather dark out, so I didn't notice Nat sitting at the bottom of the stairs to my front door.

"Who was that?" he said, making me jump.

"Oh, Nat. It's just you."

"Sorry. Did I scare you?"

I smiled, something I seemed to be doing a lot today. "Just a little bit."

"So who was the guy who dropped you off?"

Unsure of what to say, I froze. This was not how I wanted Nat to find out about Richie, but it looks like I had no other choice. "Oh, him? He's just a friend of mine from school."

"He? As in, a guy?"

It was too dark for me to see Nat's expression. I didn't know if I wanted to or not. "Well, yeah. But it's nothing. We're just friends," I said almost frantically.

To my surprise, he laughed and stood up, allowing me to see him smiling. "Don't worry about it, Rosalina. I mean, it's great that you have some friends at school now. It just happens to be a guy, and I'm okay with that. You don't have to hide these things from me, you know."

"I know. I was just worried about what you guys might think. You know how the guys are."

"Look," Nat said, running his hand through his hair shaggy hair, "I know that Thomas and the guys can be really annoying sometimes, but you just have to sort of expect that from them. You're still our friend and we just want you to be happy. They had felt really bad about what they said at rehearsals that one day. They just didn't think you'd get so mad about it."

"I was being a bit sensitive about it, too. You're right; I should have expected it."

"They're just a little upset about you being in high school. You seem so far away sometimes, and they don't feel like they can talk to you because of that."

That actually surprised me a bit. I never imagined that any of the band members cared that much about me.

When Nat realized that I wasn't going to respond, he changed the subject. "So when are we going to get to meet this new friend of yours?"

"He's going out of town for a week, so maybe I can introduce him to you guys when he gets back."

"Cool," he smiled, trailing off.

"Cool," I repeated, also trailing off.

"So, um, goodnight then."

"Yeah, goodnight," I waved as I walked into my house.

It was strange; I almost never had those awkward silences with Richie. It only showed how different the two truly were. Nat was shy, modest, and never sure of himself. He was never able to see in himself what everyone saw. On the other hand, Richie was just as, if not more, shy as Nat. However, he was much more steadfast, immediately charming, and well spoken than Nat was. Both of them were sweet and fun to spend time with.

There was Nat Wolff, a brilliant musician and my long-time best friend, and Richie Sheffield, the boy with soft, hopeful eyes and an undeniable spirit. As I laid in my bed and closed my eyes to sleep, I saw in my mind a boy with unruly brown hair and sweet brown eyes staring back at me.

But this time, I wasn't sure which one I wanted it to be.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

This was, by far, one of the slowest weeks of my life. It was only Wednesday and already I was praying for the week to end. The time I spent with the band was amazing but far too short-lived in comparison to the dragged-out school day. With Richie all the way across the country in Seattle, it was hard for us to find time to talk. During the four days that he had been gone, we had talked for a total of thirty minutes and sent about a hundred text messages. The hours spent at school felt like days without Richie bumping into me between almost every period.

In other words, I was bored.

It was time for lunch here, which meant that it was still early morning in Seattle. Richie told me that he would have the morning off so he would probably call me during lunch.

Probably.

I leaned against my locker, gripping my phone anxiously. I was looking at the screen every few seconds, not realizing how desperate I must have looked to everyone walking by. It didn't matter, though, because I wasn't paying attention to any of them. This proved to be a big mistake when Patrice Johnston swaggered towards me.

"Hey, Rosalina!" she chirped with false cheer.

Quickly putting my phone away, I plastered a smile to my face. "Hi, Patrice."

"So where's your boy-toy this week?"

There were many good reasons why I didn't like her. This was one. "My what?"

"Oh, come on," she scoffed. "You know who I'm talking about. Where is Richie?"

"Out of town. Why do you ask?"

Patrice seemed a bit annoyed with me, and I didn't know why. I hadn't even said anything yet. "You two seem to have gotten very close since school started."

"Yeah. He's really nice. So?"

"I don't get it, Rosalina. Why does he talk to you and not to me? I'm the most popular girl in our class, but he hasn't said a word to me. I even tried talking to him and he just looked at me. What's the matter with him?"

Was she insulting Richie? She just added another reason to my list. "He's just really shy."

Patrice scoffed again; she was really good at that. "You just want to keep him all to yourself, don't you? First Nat and then Richie. Why don't you just pick one already?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You can't fool me, Rosalina. Just because you're in a band doesn't mean I'm going to let you have two gorgeous guys."

"Whatever, Patrice." I was getting sick of this conversation and decided that the best plan of action would just be to leave. As I walked away from my locker and Patrice, I felt my phone vibrate, and I smiled.

Perfect timing, as always.

"It's about time."

"Sorry about that," Richie said wearily. "It's chaos over here."

"What's going on? I thought you had the morning off."

"I do. The band's been fighting since the beginning of the tour, and I happened to come here right in the middle of it all. The other assistants treat me like dirt here."

"Why? Is it because you're the youngest?"

"That and the fact that I don't drink, smoke, or do anything else stupid like the rest of these junkies. The band got really drunk last night and ended up having a brawl. The crew sent me, the clean-cut newbie, to break it up. It's wasn't pretty."

"Ouch. I don't envy you right now."

"Trust me, neither do I. I just can't wait to get home. The weather here sucks."

He sounded so tired and worn that I had forgotten all my own troubles. Nothing that was happening to me could ever compare to being treated like a dog by my coworkers and breaking up drunken band fights for a whole week. I tried my best to sound hopeful for Richie. "You'll be home soon enough."

"Soon is not soon enough. I hate bands like these. They are everything that is wrong with mainstream rock bands nowadays. I miss the days when I got jobs with cleaner bands."

"Maybe you should tour with us someday," I said, smiling a bit at the thought.

"I'd like that." A loud crash interrupted our conversation. "It looks like the guys are awake," Richie cursed. "I'll talk to you later, hopefully." He hung up quickly, and I didn't even have the chance to say bye to him.

After shutting my phone, I checked the time and sighed. I had well over half of lunch left to withstand alone. Knowing that Richie was all the way across the country struggling to keep a band from ripping each other's throats out while trying his best to get out of it alive made me feel even worse. I could only hope that he would stay out of the fray long enough to come back in one piece because Nat and the band were anxious to meet him.

These next few days were going to be very interesting.

* * *

_AN: Sorry for the delay. I thought being a second semester senior was going to be easier but I'm busier than ever, and my other stoies need desperate attention as well. I should learn better time management. Well, anyway. Enjoy!_


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

I, Rosalina DiMeco, was a sophomore at Amigos High school. Like all teenagers, I had quite a story to tell.

When I was still in middle school, I joined a band with Nat Wolff. At the time, I knew he had a big crush on me, but I had expected it to simply fade away as all crushes did in middle school. I shrugged off every gesture he ever made that showed he wanted us to be more than friends. Because I was two years older than he was and would be going into high school soon, I often felt very hesitant about getting into a relationship with him.

Time went on. We got famous because of the songs Nat wrote. Of course, I felt it a bit strange to get famous singing love songs written about myself, but I never regretted my decision to join the Naked Brothers Band. There had never been a time that I had more alive than when I was standing on stage, bass in hand, a sea of people in front of me, and my best friends beside me singing. It was the only life I knew.

But that was the problem.

I had never truly lived a normal life. I never really lived a life without cameras everywhere, my name in lights, and my face in the papers. I never even had any real friends outside of the band.

Along came Richie Sheffield, who showed me a world outside of my own. Although neither of us lived normal lives, he showed me another side to fame and fortune, and how sometimes choosing a passion meant walking a road less travelled. Richie toured with bands whether they were famous or not, and did all the dirty work behind the scenes.

And he loved what he did as much I loved what I did.

He once told me that he had never seen me play without a smile on my face, and I couldn't deny it. Music would always be a big part of my life.

However, my friendship with Richie placed me in an odd position. Our first encounter lead to a farfetched tale about him being my long-time, secret boyfriend. Once that rumor was dispelled, we ran into each other at school, literally. Ever since then, I had spent every non-band related moment with him.

Yet another problem arises. Nat and the guys were cool with me being friends with Richie and looked forward to meeting him, but they didn't know that my new friend was the same boy that the headlines once said I was dating in secret. It was an easy lie to dispel at the time, but now that Richie and I were close, the suspicions could come back and never go away.

All of this was my fault, of course. I, Rosalina DiMeco, was a horrible person. I could not help but feel as though I was betraying Nat in some way. Even though I didn't actually like him in any romantic way, I knew that he felt that way about me. No matter what I did, it felt like I was playing with his feelings.

A part of me knew that nothing would ever happen between us simply because Nat was too unsure of himself to make the first move. I had no intentions to make anything more of our friendship, so it was almost a guarantee that nothing would ever go on between us. However, there were times when I felt Nat was taking my actions in a way I didn't intend him to.

Whether it was a night at prom or a meaningless kiss on the cheek, the guilt of misunderstanding would always be there.

Even when Richie wasn't there, I thought about him. When I was talking or texting Richie, I was thinking about Nat. Even as the guys and I decided to spend our Friday night watching movies at Nat's, I was thinking about how I would leave early to greet Richie when he returned. As I told Nat how I would be leaving at eight, I regretted not being able to stay all night. As we watched a movie I had already seen, I rested on Nat's shoulder but looked forward to spending the rest of the night with Richie. I missed the days when things were simpler, and I only had one thing on my mind: the band. Then again, I couldn't imagine what it would have been like if I didn't meet Richie.

I, Rosalina DiMeco, was a liar, cheater, and traitor.

High school sucked.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

After what felt like the longest movie ever, the clock finally struck eight. It was time for me to meet Richie and help him unpack. I jumped off Nat's couch, a bit overexcitedly, and wished the guys a good night. It was a fast walk over to Richie's granted the fact that I was practically sprinting. My anticipation was getting the best of me. When I finally got there, Richie was getting out of the taxicab and he gave me a small smile.

I practically tackled him.

But as soon as he threw his arms around me, I knew something was wrong. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin pale. He looked exhausted and weak, as if hugging me took all of his effort to do.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Seattle hates me. It was pouring yesterday and I had to usher the crowd out. What band schedules an outdoor concert in the middle of a passing storm?"

I brought my head to his face and quickly pulled back. He was definitely sick. "You're burning up. Let me take your bags in for you."

Normally, he would have objected and taken them all in just to spite me, but he seemed to weary to care. After obediently shrugging off his backpack, Richie dragged his feet towards his door and fumbled with his keys until we was inside. Fortunately, for me, Richie hadn't packed much and it wasn't long before I was inside with him.

It was a sad sight, indeed. In the few minutes it had taken me to settle in the house, Richie had managed to throw on a sweatshirt and pajama pants, leaving his other clothes in a heap on the floor. I found him splayed out on the couch.

For the most part.

Half of him was hanging off the couch as if he had tried to get back up but had given up midway through the struggle.

I couldn't help but crack a smile at him. "How are you feeling over there?"

He raised his arm and gave me a pitiful thumbs-up.

"I'll be back in a second. I have to make a call."

A muffled grunt was his only reply.

I shook my head and flipped open my phone; there were two calls that I had to make. First, I called my dad, telling him that I would be out all night and won't be there when he got back. No problem there. Then, there was that other call.

My finger wavered over the green call button for a moment. I then cleared Nat's number from the screen and dialed Cooper's instead. He picked up surprisingly quickly; that's Cooper for you.

"Hey, Rosalina."

"Hi, Coop. How's the sleepover going?"

"Fine. What's up?"

"I don't think I can make it to rehearsal tomorrow morning. Richie's sick and I'm going to stay with him tonight. Can you just tell Nat for me?"

There was a slight pause; I knew there was a question biting at his tongue. He wanted to know why I didn't just tell Nat myself, but Cooper was never one to ask unnecessary questions. "No problem. I hope he feels better."

"Thanks, Coop. Goodnight."

"Bye."

I breathed a sigh of relief when he hung up. Later, I would probably regret not telling Nat directly, but I was more concerned with Richie for now. The poor, sickly thing had been patiently awaiting my return. While I had been on the phone, he had won the fight against gravity and sat comfortably upright by the time I got to him.

"You know," he mumbled feebly. "Whenever a race horse got injured or sick, they use to just shoot it. End its misery, you know?"

My mouth twitched in amusement. "Are you saying you want me to shoot you?"

"I used to want a pony when I was little," he said, having completely forgotten the last thing he had said.

I suddenly felt as if I was talking to a child with the attention span of a doorstop. "Uh-huh."

"I found a turtle on the road once."

"Uh-huh." I giggled as I moved to sit beside him on the couch.

"I named him Donatello."

"Uh-huh." I threw three blankets over the rambling fool and pulled his head onto my lap.

"He ran away."

"Uh-huh."

"I didn't know he could do that."

"Uh-huh."

"Because he was a turtle."

"Uh-huh."

"And turtles don't run."

I began to worry that his babbling would wear him out or he would harm himself trying to say something coherent. It was time for him to get some rest, so I decided to do what my dad used to do when I was a kid. With Richie's head resting on my lap, I fiddled with his fluffy, not-gelled hair, and sang the first song that came to mind.

_I don't believe it,_

_That I could be so deceiving_

_And bringing you down to feel this lack of loyalty._

_'Cause you were a song in my head,_

_The warmth of the sheets in my bed._

_A story forever told, but never old,_

_A warm arrival never left so cold._

_Don't blink, don't close your eyes,_

_But most of all don't apologize._

_It's me who's got the demons to wrestle now._

_There's a patch of blue in the stormy sky,_

_A memory of a brighter time._

_When everything was new, and less watered down,_

_Before the summer turned to brown…_

And it wasn't long before both of us were sound asleep.

* * *

_AN: Yes, I know that the last chapter was a bit of a filler, but it wasn't intended like that. After writing for a while, I kind of figure out a bit more about my writing style. I usually spend a lot of time setting up the story with details, character development, opening up a lot of unanswered questions and plot holes, etc. Then, I sum up the entire beginning in a chapter or so, before smoothly and quickly tying up all the loose ends. _

_This was a fun chapter to write. I love "sick stories" because I've seen people do weird things while under the influence of illness and cold medications. The song is **"A Song In My Head"** by Sherwood. I did not write it._


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

I wasn't sure what time it was when I woke up. By the amount of sunlight shining through the window, I guess it was some time past nine. An unfamiliar weight pressed down on my legs, and it took me a moment to remember what it was.

Richie, with his head still balanced on my stomach, was sound asleep. I carefully placed my hand on his forehead and smiled; he wasn't as warm as he was yesterday. I would check up on him later tonight, but I wanted to try my best to make it to rehearsal right now.

Deciding to check the actual time, I glanced at my phone. It was 9:45; I would definitely be able to make it. Slowly, I dislodged myself from underneath Richie and scribbled a short note telling him that I would be back later. I left quietly and stretched when the cool morning air touched my skin. I was in a rather good mood this morning.

Unfortunately, Life didn't seem to like it very much whenever I was in a good mood. On the way to the warehouse, I ran into one of the last people I ever wanted to see.

"Hi, Rosalina!" Patrice chirped.

I gritted my teeth, but it was too late to pretend I didn't hear her. "Hey, Patrice."

"You look awfully cheerful this morning," she said pointedly. "Did you have a good time last night? You're just coming back from his place, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. We're just friends." I had lost count of how many times I had to say that over the years, except, this time, I wasn't talking about Nat.

"Sure you are. Don't worry, though. Nat and the guys were looking for you last night, so I showed them where Richie lived. You can thank me later."

My blood ran cold. "You did what?"

"They wanted to surprise you or something stupid like that. Don't tell me that they didn't make it to his house."

The gears in my head were turning as Patrice continued.

"I thought he wouldn't. I know Nat's gorgeous and everything, but he's not that smart, is he? No wonder you dumped him for Richie. I would almost be jealous of you except that now, I can take Nat. It's a fair trade, don't you think?"

"Just shut up, Patrice!" I finally exploded. That girl never had a filter between her brain and her mouth.

"You can't say that to me! I'm the-"

"-prettiest and most popular girl in our class. I know. Tell it to your real friends, if you even have any."

I rushed off and heard her call me a name I've been called before. If what Patrice was telling me was correct, and it most likely was, then Nat and the guys went looking for me yesterday. With Qaasim and Cooper with them, there was no possible way that they could've gotten lost, even with the odd layout of Richie's home. Knowing them, there was only one real explanation as to why they didn't come knocking on the door.

They had been spying on me.

My heart was racing when I reached the warehouse. I knew they had probably seen something I didn't want them to see, and they probably assumed it meant something that it didn't. My hand tightened on the doorknob and I paused. Whatever was about to happen, it wasn't going to be pretty.

Taking a deep breath and preparing for the worst, I opened the door and walked in.

* * *

_AN: My writer's block has officially passed, but my schedule is also officially packed. I have a lot of things lined up for myself, so I'll apologize in advance if updates are a little bit slow. Also, for the few of you who have asked what you can do for the NBB community:_

_1. Write fics. Not just any fics, though. We're looking for top-quality fics. _

_2. Find fics. There are some amazing writers and some amazing fics out there. They just have to be found._

_3. Subscribe to my C2. Check my profile for details._

_4. Review, review, review, and review. This goes for all writers and non-writers. The best thing you can do to help someone write is to take the time and write an honest review. Giving people honest opinions and constructive criticism is the best way to help someone improve._

_And I'd like to take the time to thank my own readers. You are all amazing and every review I read makes my day. _


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

It was my fault. All of this was my fault.

If I had been more open about Richie then the guys would have had no reason to try and spy on me. If I hadn't tried so hard to care for him then the guys would have nothing to overreact about. If I hadn't been so confused about my feelings about Richie then this wouldn't hurt so badly. If I hadn't been unintentionally leading Nat on all these years then there would be no guilt. Everything was crashing and burning.

And I was the one to blame for it all.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that I had hurt Nat. I knew he was hurt by the look in his eyes. I could tell even before I walked through that door that Nat was hurt. However, the only thing I felt at the time was anger. It was one thing that they had been spying on me, but I knew that it was the least of my problems. For the past few hours, the rest of the band had been filling his head with garbage in an attempt to cheer him up, making it all the harder for us to patch things up again. 

I was a walking time bomb, ready to explode. My mind was on the edge and there was nothing I could do to calm it down. The idea that I could very easily make things worse didn't even cross my mind.

Just one more thing to blame myself for later on.

"Come on, Nat. It's just Rosalina," Thomas said. I guess they hadn't noticed me yet.

"I know, but-"

"No. I'm serious, Nat. It's time for you to get over her."

Garbage. There was nothing for him to get over because we were never together to begin with.

"Thomas is right. There are plenty of other fish in the sea, especially for you." 

David always had to back up Thomas, didn't he?

"Yeah, man. Even I'm jealous of how many girls you could get. It's time for you to move on and see what else is out there."

And, of course, Qaasim had to top it all off. It was getting harder and harder for me to keep my presence unknown.

"There's no way anything could have happened between you two anyway. You know how insecure she can be."

"No, Thomas. Care to tell me?" 

All heads turned at my outburst. Sometimes I wish I could control my temper and keep my big mouth shut, but it was too late for that now.

"Rosalina!"

"Yeah, that's me. You know, that girl you spied on last night?"

"Oh, you mean that liar we used to be friends with?"

This was definitely not going well. While Thomas, David, and Qaasim were ganging up on me, Nat sat quietly in the corner, not saying a word. Meanwhile, I wasn't acting like myself. If I had been even remotely sane at the moment, I would have realized that I would almost never say anything like this. Too bad my temper was getting the best of me.

"No. The one who believes in this little thing called privacy."

"Well, it's a good thing we did spy on you. Otherwise we wouldn't have discovered your dirty little secret."

"What dirty little secret?"

"That guy, Richie. He's the one from Pinfield's report, isn't he?"

"Yeah. So?"

"That means the report was true!"

"What? No. Richie and I are only friends and nothing else! It's just like me and Nat-"

My mind returned as soon as the words left my mouth, and I finally realized what I had just said. Telling them that Nat and I were nothing more than friends was like telling them that Nat and I would never be anything more than friends. Nat, already heartbroken from before, looked at me as if I had committed the ultimate betrayal. His gaze frightened me to the very core because behind the hurt and the fear, I saw what I dreaded the most.

Anger.

Whenever Nat was upset, his words cut like knives. Even the Alex knew to back down when his brother was truly and deeply enraged. Nat's anger in addition to my own was a disaster waiting to erupt. It had happened only a few times before and something was telling me that it was about to happen again.

"I'm so sick of this, Rosalina!" he shouted, moving away from his corner and right in front of me. "First you lie to us and then you lie to the papers, telling them that their report was wrong. Then you go sneaking around with some guy you told everyone you didn't even know! You don't talk to us about everything and you're never around. Sometimes I don't even feel like I know you anymore!"

"Well, I don't think you know me at all, Nat. Did you ever once think that maybe I became friends with him after the reports died down?"

"What are the chances of that?"

"Greater than you think, since that's exactly what happened."

"So why did you have to go sneaking around with him?"

"Because I knew you guys would overreact about it like you all are now! Do you know what it's like to go through an entire school year without friends? Do you know what it's like to eat lunch alone or miss out on parties or feel like you don't belong anywhere? Do you know what it's like to finally make a friend? To meet someone you can relate to and talk to when the rest of you aren't there?"

"Don't start on that stuff, Rosalina."

"But I will! Do you know what it's like to have your name slandered throughout the entire student body because of you guys? They act as if I'm babysitting you! Have you ever once thought about the fact that it's hard enough to make friends when I'm never free to hang out, but even worse because my names all over the headlines with you? I'm two years older! By the time you're a junior, I'll be out of high school!"

"What's that have to do with anything?"

"Think about it, Nat! What if I want to go to college or get a good job somewhere? We can't be the Naked Brothers Band forever, Nat. We can't stay in middle school forever!"

"Are you saying you want to quit?"

"I don't know. Maybe I am!"

"That's it, Rosalina!" he screamed, stomping his foot on the ground. "I'm sick and tired of all your insecurities. If you want to quit so badly then quit! If you're going to be like that then maybe we're better off without you!"

"Fine! I'm out of here!"

"Fine!"

I stormed out, surprised that I wasn't broken down in tears already. Knowing that there was only one person in this world who would actually stand by my side no matter what, I ran over to his house, the one place where I knew I could feel secure. On the way there, I swore to myself that I would never speak to any of the guys again.

Then again, I had never been very good at keeping promises.

* * *

_**AN:** I'm back! Sorry for the extended delay. I was working on my original works and lost track of times for the past few weeks (months?). This chapter was a lot harder than I had ever expected it to be, but I hope it turned out okay. It's very dialogue heavy, but that's how I intended it to be. I am also in the process of developing another NBB fic called "A Time for Goodbyes," which will be based more on the whole band rather than just Rosalina. There's a bit of a personal story attached to it, so I'm hoping it'll be good._

_Anyway, thanks for being patient and enjoy!_


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

It was a long walk back to Richie's place, and he probably wasn't expecting me back until much later. At the pace I was going at, it was probably going to take a bit more than an hour for me to get there. I probably could have called him for a ride, but I wasn't sure how he was feeling. I wasn't even sure if he was awake yet, and I didn't really feel like bothering him just yet. Then again, I was headed to my house to dump all my stupid problems on him, which, in a sense, could be bothering him. My mind wasn't working very well at the moment.

Wait. I take that back.

It was working just fine. As a matter of fact, everything was clearer than ever.

I was an idiot. I was a stupid, bitter, lying, cheating traitor with nowhere to go. I was a pitiful loser with no one to turn to but the one person who already enough of a burden on him. I was an undeserving, spoiled brat who threw away a life that most people could only dream of having. I was a fool walking from the warehouse to Richie's house, letting the rain pour down on me.

Scratch that. There was no rain. It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. The perfect weather was practically mocking me.

Damn my inner demons. Damn my flaws. Damn my insecurities. Damn them all.

Days like these weren't supposed to be spent moping under the pouring rain of an imaginary raincloud. I contemplated just going back to my house and sitting alone with my dust bunnies; it was what I deserved.

But instead, I was heading over the Richie's to ruin his mood. How great of a friend was I?

I was glad that no one could hear what was going on in my head, especially Richie. He would murder me for all this self-loathing. I didn't deserve to know someone like Richie. I didn't deserve him when I first met him and I definitely didn't deserve him now. All he was going to do was listen to me rant and then make everything seem like it was okay. He was probably the sweetest boy on the planet and he was wasting his time with someone like me.

Well, it was too late for me to turn back now. My undeniable hatred for myself made the trip to Richie's much shorter than I had expected it to be. Before I knew it, I was opening the door to his side of the house.

To my surprise, I didn't find him sleeping on the couch. A pile of neatly folded blankets was sitting exactly where I had expected Richie to be. A second later, the door to the bathroom opened and he walked out; perfect timing as always.

Despite my mood, I couldn't help but want to smile. Richie had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing only sweatpants. A towel was draped over his bare shoulders and his hair was flat against his head, still slightly damp.

He looked adorable.

It wasn't as though I had any physical attraction for him or anything. I didn't mean to look at him in that way, but it just sort of happened. He wasn't the most muscular guy out there, but when a boy as attractive as Richie walked into a room without a shirt, any girl would notice. It was just another phenomenon of nature, I guess.

"You're back awfully early," Richie said, rubbing his hair with the towel and sending a shower of water droplets flying in all directions.

"It's a long story."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow and placed the towel back on his shoulders. "I guess you didn't check the news report then."

"What news report?"

"Have a seat."

Fearing the worst, I reluctantly sat the couch. Richie moved the pile of blankets to the ground and grabbed a sheet of paper on his counter before sitting beside me. It may have been my imagination or malfunctioning brain but it felt like he was sitting unusually close to me today. Still dreading the news, however, I didn't bother to mention it and waited patiently for Richie to begin.

"Well, I woke up maybe an hour and a half since you left my house, which meant that you would have been at rehearsal for only a short time because you walked there. Anyway, I decided to check out the latest news in entertainment on my computer, and came up with this. Just as I was about to take a shower, another article popped up, so I decided to check it out. After reading it, I printed it out because I assumed you would be coming here anyway. It looks like I was right." He looked at me strangely before turning to the paper he was carrying. "It says here that you got into a fight with the band and quit. There's even a witness statement from someone who says she knows you."

"Who?"

"Some girl named Patrice Johnston."

"Figures."

"Yeah. Well anyway, this article rambles on about the fight you guys had and everything. This was released a bit more than an hour ago, so either it's bull or news reporters are getting better ninja skills out there. Care to tell me what the real story is?"

I was surprised at how apathetic I felt to the whole thing. I had expected myself to be surprised or angry when Richie told me that a news report had already been released about me quitting, but I felt strangely numb to it all.

All the easier to tell Richie.

"The guys spied on us last night. They jumped to the wrong conclusions about us, got mad because they thought that the article released from the summer about us that was claimed to be false was actually true, and then called me a liar. Nat was hurt, everyone started yelling at me, and I started yelling back. I told them that maybe I didn't want to be stuck in the band for the rest of my life and maybe I wanted to take some other path in the future. The guys were shouting, Nat was shouting, I was shouting, and, in the end, I just got fed up and left."

The entire time I was talking, Richie had been glancing between the paper and me, all the while nodding along. After I finished, he glanced at his printout once more and put it down. "They're not too far off, actually." He then looked me straight in the eye, sitting only inches away. "Did you mean what you said about the band and the future?"

"No. Well, yes. Well, I don't know," I responded, still feeling strangely apathetic. "How am I supposed to know? How am I supposed to know where I want to be years from now? Maybe I want to go to college or maybe I want to stay a musician or maybe I want to do something else. I don't have the slightest idea what I'm doing with myself."

He sighed, staring down at the couch for a moment before looking back at me. "Tell me, Rosalina. Are you an idealist or a realist?"

"What sort of question is that?"

"Not much of one, I guess, since you don't really have an answer."

"What's your point?"

"There are some people out there who are idealists. They are so sickenly optimistic and sugarcoated that just talking to them gives you cavities. Then, there are the realists. They are always down to earth but sometimes talking to them is depressing because they've given up their faith in dreams."

"So what do you think I am?"

"Let me finish. I think there's a third category. It's one that I think you and I fit in. We are realists stuck in the dreams of our idealistic worlds. We are idealists weighed down by the bitter appeal of normalcy. The average person could only dream to have a life like ours, touring around with the rich and famous or even becoming the rich and famous. Then again, we're normal kids, just like everyone else, trying to find a place in this world. We're the lost realists, wandering through our teenage years looking for a purpose. You question your future because you are too afraid that they will not coincide with your dreams. Then again, you don't even know what you're dreams are, do you?"

I don't know if what Richie was saying was making me feel better or worse. Nevertheless, it was making me think. "I thought I did, but I guess I was wrong."

"But we're all still so young. You're right. There are so many paths that we can take, and we can probably be successful in just about all of them. We have so much time to chose, make mistakes, pick ourselves up, and start walking down another path. However, even though we don't have to be sure what path we want to take, there is one thing that we have to be certain about."

"What is that?"

"We have to be sure that the path we chose is actually chosen by us. Don't let your life be run by your friends, family, teachers, paparazzi, or anyone. Never let anyone tell you can't do something or that you only have one choice in life."

Everything he had said was making a lot of sense to me. At first, I had only been smiling at Richie's appearance, but now I was smiling because of he had said. His words refreshed me, and allowed me to justify myself for the time being.

"Now," he said, resting his elbows on his knees and shifting even closer to me. "Tell me, Ms. Rosalina DiMeco. Are you the kind of girl that lets other people or prior commitments define who you will become for the rest of your life? Are you the kind of person who lets people walk all over her?"

Matching the smirk on his face, I beamed with pride. "Rosalina DiMeco belongs to no one."

* * *

  
_**AN:** This was a rather long chapter, but I had been looking forward to it for a very long time. Yay._


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

What was Hell in my eyes was a dream come true for the media. After seeing the mostly accurate article released only an hour after the actual fight, I didn't know what to expect from the other reports that were bound to show up. The results weren't pretty.

It was perhaps the biggest news in New York, and possibly the country, for months. Different versions of the fight were used in different tabloids, most of them posing me as the villain and poor Nat Wolff as the heartbroken victim. I was widely known as the "NBB Bitch," a name that I was surprised to hear even the younger children shout in my direction. I bet soap sales went up with the amount of scrubbing some of these children's mouths needed. My ears were practically bleeding at the end of each day from the amount of taunts they had to put up with. It was just another con to trying make myself a normal high school kid.

Yet another downside was the fact that I wasn't just the ex-bassist of the Naked Brothers Band, but I was _Rosalina_, the ex-bassist of the Naked Brothers Band. I was the muse for most of Nat's songs and the one who apparently shattered his heart into a million pieces. The biggest question on America's mind was whether or not the band would stick together or dissolve completely. Somewhere in my mind, I knew that they would pull through, but the public had a great time blowing the issue out of proportion. In the end, my microscopic fan base was no match for his, and the beloved Nat Wolff received more support than ever before.

It was sickening, really.

And I used to be a part of it all, too. A part of me still missed it all, though. The narcissistic part of me genuinely missed the spotlight, the cameras, the interviews, the tours, and the amusingly exaggerating reports. The other part of me wondered how I could even bare to stand to live in a business that was more about how the public and media interpreted your actions than the actual action itself.

At the moment, I was at the height of it all. By quitting the band and breaking the heart of one of the most beloved celebrity in the country, I instantly became the most infamous face on the magazines. I went through the rest of my sophomore year in shame. I might as well of had a large neon sign behind me which had the word "traitor" on it. People called me names, taunted me, spat in my direction, and even threatened me at some points. There were only two people who were on my side during this entire ordeal: my dad and, of course, Richie.

Dad was quite worried when the verbal abuse got worse and even took a few days off work to stay at home with me. It was during those few days that I introduced him to Richie. My dad was a bit unsure at first, probably because he worried that Richie would become my first official boyfriend. Once the paternal instinct and paranoia faded away, he began to like Richie, even to the point where he admitted my safety wasn't much of a concern as long as Richie was with me. With that said, my dad started working again and living his nocturnal life.

Richie was around me constantly. If it were any other time or any other boy, I would have been absolutely sick of seeing him. However, with the world giving me the cold shoulder, his company was always a blessing to have. No other person in the world could have lifted up my spirits in such a difficult time and stick by me for some of the toughest months of my life.

In the end, Richie was the one who let me stay strong.

During the last month of school, the Naked Brothers Band album was released. Its sales were off the charts since all the fans wanted to show them how much better off they were without me in the band. This would be a big summer for them. Not only were four of the five remaining members going to high school, but Alex was also rushing to finish his summer work early in hopes of skipping two years of school to join the band in high school. Normally, the system wouldn't allow that, but with the publicity surrounding the band at the time, they could probably pull some strings. Their final day of middle school would kick off their summer tour, just as the last day of school kicked off last year's tour. The only difference was that it would be their first tour without me.

And, to my bitter surprise, I honestly didn't care.

_**AN:** Sorry for the wait. I've been busy with a lot of other thing. Also notice the my penname change. **TheSkyIsCalling** is now **Jaded Catalyst**. _


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Now, more than ever, I needed distractions. I needed to be indoors, away from the general public, and I needed to have something to do. School was over and I didn't have any academic work to busy myself with. I had no rehearsals, concerts, or tours to worry about either; I left that life behind months ago. I didn't even have that many friends to go out with since people generally hated me now. It was the middle of summer, and I rarely knew what to do with my free time.

Fortunately, Richie was very good at giving me things to do. Whether it was a grocery shopping, cleaning the house, or getting paperwork done, Richie always found ways for me to help him out. It was refreshing to know that I was still useful in someone's eyes. He kept me active, busy, and distracted.

Basically, he kept me sane.

Mass publicity on the Naked Brothers Band was far from over. Their tour was still going strong and the sales were still breaking records all over the place. There were even stories of fans going to multiple concerts and buying multiple albums to keep the numbers up and the support strong. The media had, in general, stopped slamming me as hard as they used to, but the public opinion of me was not much better than when the tabloids had been bashing on me.

On a different note, soap sales had gone up slightly since the incident. Perhaps it was just a coincidence but an amusing one nonetheless.

Publicity was dying out. The hate was still everywhere. Summer days were dragging on and on. This so-called normal life was far from normal in my eyes. Perhaps I was already too far sucked into the spotlight to truly understand what it meant to live a normal life. Some habits could not be broken and some memories would never fade. At least I had my distractions. Perhaps I could never forget, but I could learn to move on. According to Richie, this required going on with life as if nothing was wrong and keeping busy.

Today, that meant clearing out the junk cluttering his house. About fifteen minutes ago, he had left to grab some more trash bags from the store and was going to be back anytime now. I had offered to get them myself, but he wouldn't let me, knowing that I was just desperate for an excuse to flaunt my newly acquired driver's license.

Summer birthdays had their benefits.

For the most part, Richie's apartment was clean. There was only a little bit of dusting to do and a few useless trinkets to get rid of. As I plopped down on the couch, however, my foot struck something hard. Checking under the couch, I found a slightly dusty chest sitting on its lonesome. My curiosity got the best of me and I decided to go through it.

Its contents were somewhat typical for a softie like Richie. There were old newspaper clippings, pictures, letters, and other small items that probably had some sentimental value to him. I didn't want to completely violate his privacy while he wasn't there, so I didn't look at the items with much detail, but one thing caught my eye more than anything else.

It was a simple photograph. Rather, it was a strip of low-quality photographs taken at one of those booths at the mall. A strange mix of emotions passed through me that very instant, and I was touched that Richie had decided to keep the pictures in a box full of what seemed to be his most cherished memories.

"That was a great day, wasn't it?" Richie said from behind me, causing me to jump a little bit.

"It really was," I replied when I finally got my nerves back together.

"You wanted to leave the mall so quickly, so I guess you forgot about them, but right before we left, I snatched them from the booth."

"So you could put them in this box?"

"No," he said a bit too quickly. "I just didn't want any reporters to find them or anything."

"And that's why I found it in this box?" I smirked. "Because you wanted to protect them from the media, who found out about us months ago?"

Richie rubbed the back of his head with a bemused look on his face. "I'm a pretty bad liar, aren't I?"

"No, you're actually pretty good." I pulled him down, and he fell on us butt on the floor beside me. "I just know you better than that."

Rubbing his back in exaggerated pain, he looked at me with his chocolate brown eyes. "Was that necessary?"

"Nope, but it was fun. Now," I said as I stood up and dusted myself off, "we have to put those trash bags you bought to good use."

He looked up at me with a devilish glint in his eyes. "One more thing, though."

"What's that?" I asked cautiously.

"Revenge!"

He grabbed my arm and pulled me back down to the ground. Richie hadn't realized that he pulled me so hard that instead of falling straight down, I fell towards him. With lighting quick reflexes, he caught me before I crushed him.

All I could say was that it left us in a very awkward position.

There I was, laying in my best friends arms. Our noses were practically touching and my breath caught tight in my chest. As soon as we realized what just happened, we both scrambled to our feet, blushing. The worst part was that it hadn't been the first time we found ourselves in a situation like this. My heart was racing and my mind was shifting through the memories of all the other times Richie had unintentionally flirted with me within the past few months. After taking a moment to breathe, I turned around to look at him. He was still too embarrassed to look at me, and I couldn't help but smile.

Richie was easily the smoothest boy in the world and he didn't even know it.

* * *

_ **AN**: It was cute and somewhat pointless, so I just couldn't resist. _


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Junior year hit me like a slap in the face. The schoolwork was relentless and I was busier than ever. A part of me was actually grateful not to have to worry about rehearsals and tours; I was already pulling my hair out from the stress. Whenever I shouldn't have had anything to do, I always found something to keep me occupied.

Richie wasn't much better off than I was, either. His classes weren't quite as cutthroat as mine were, but he was still swamped with frequent tours. I practically lived at his house, too. My dad and I tried to spend one meal together about every other week, and I slept at home once in a while. Most of the time, though, I was spending my time studying or sleeping at Richie's, even on the days when he was on tour; sometimes it felt like more of a home than my own house did.

It wasn't as though I slept much to begin with. I got an average of maybe five hours of sleep a night no matter where I spent the night. I was up and running from the instant I woke up to the moment I hit the bed once again. My classmates were all complaining about how slowly the days were going by, but they were passing by far too quickly in my opinion.

One week flies by and Richie was on tour. Another week and I have two tests. Yet another week goes by, and Richie returns on the same day that a project is due. A few days later and Richie is gone again while I'm studying for a quiz at his house. A couple of homework-filled days later, and he is back; I help him catch up with his schoolwork. Days were blending into weeks, which were blending into months, and then first quarter was gone before we knew it.

The public hatred towards me was finally beginning to wear off for good. The band also underwent many changes at the coming of their freshman year. Nat's voice was getting deeper and his lyrics more angst-ridden. Their style was switching from pop rock to something heavier and more like alternative rock. Even Alex was maturing like his older band mates. He had managed to skip sixth grade and get into seventh. Next year, he planned on skipping either grade so that he could be in high school with his brother. That boy could be a tiny genius when he wanted to be.

Well, maybe not tiny.

He was shooting up so quickly that he was already as tall as Nat. I wouldn't be surprised if he reached six feet tall by next year.

Everyone was changing, including me. It was such a shame that I was too busy to take notice of it; Richie and I didn't seem to notice anything anymore. I wasn't sure what his motives were, but it seemed that I was taking my need for distractions to new extremes. Even after the hate subsided, I continued to bury myself in work for no true reason, and this was something I would soon regret very deeply.

It was just another one of those days. Richie was going to be gone for a few more days. I was driving from school to his house, praying that the traffic wasn't going to be too bad. There was this one traffic light that had been having a lot of problems this past week and giving people a lot of trouble. It started when we realized that the light on both sides of the intersection had been red for almost half an hour. As I got closer though, I let out a sigh of relief.

It was green.

I was about to tanks my lucky stars, but then I saw that the light on the other side of the intersection was green, too. Just as my mind registered what a dangerous situation I was in, an SUV came crashing into the side of my car.

_**AN**: Gasp! I've been looking forward to this chapter since the very beginning. Living in a room facing a major street in my city, I often witness many bad accidents right outside my window, so this chapter sort of hits home._


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Damn my luck. Damn my inner demons. Damn my insecurities. Damn my everything.

How could I have been such an idiot?

All this time, I had just been running away from everything. I had been drowning myself in my work and looking for distractions so that I wouldn't have to look reality straight in the eye. Had my feet always been so far off the ground? I had left the spotlight in pursuit of a taste of the real world, but my head was still in the clouds.

I was running. I was avoiding the public eye because they had been so critical of me, and even after the hate subsided, I was still living as a recluse. I used to hover outside my truth in hopes that my path would define itself. I had thought that maybe if I spent my time working, some path would show itself to me. Richie and I were making the same mistakes, thinking that making the most out of our time meant working from sun up to sun down.

But what as the point of working hard if we never even took one second to make use of the results? How many opportunities had we missed? How many chances did we turn out backs to? Had we already lost ourselves to our fears?

We were so foolish to think that we were actually making the best of our time, and it may have already been too late for me.

Amidst the screeching tires and piercing screams, the broken glass and shredded metal, the urgent calls and flashing lights, was a foolish teenage girl who had forgotten what it meant to live life to its fullest. Vision blurred and consciousness fading, I was aware of only one thing: the voice in my head beating myself up for all the chances I had missed.

And I prayed that hopefully I could have just one more.

* * *

_**AN**: This chapter is short, but necessary in my eyes. I promise to update again soon. _


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

I'm not sure how long I had been out for, but it had definitely been a strange experience. I don't think I was completely unconscious the entire time. It was a strange sort of half-conscious state that some people get into when they're partially asleep. It was almost like paralyzed feeling where I was aware of my surroundings but my body wouldn't react to anything. It was times like this when reality and imagination mixed together, and I couldn't tell if what I sensed was real or just a dream.

During this half-dream state, I thought I heard someone say something about a concussion. I also heard something about cracked ribs, which scared me a bit. Then again, I also heard them talk about a third arm, which I knew had to be just a dream. There was a lot of noise and movement around the room. Why couldn't they just leave the unconscious girl in peace?

Oh, yeah. They didn't think that I could hear them.

Well, maybe I couldn't. Maybe all of what I heard was just a really long dream. Maybe the supposed concussion I had was making me delusional. Maybe I didn't even have a concussion and I just dreamed that I heard the doctors talking about it.

Great. I was confused and my mind was about to burst. On top of that, I was unconscious. I just wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, but my body wouldn't let me. Voices were echoing through my mind and I couldn't tell which were real.

Maybe I was going crazy.

I used to think that being unconscious was like going to sleep. I imagined that you would just suddenly wake up and find that a few days had passed. Instead, I was trapped inside my own little mind with no one to talk to but myself.

It was amazing how quickly I got sick of myself.

So I just settled with the voice I was supposedly hearing around the room. There wasn't much variety, though, so I got bored rather quickly. There were doctors and nurses, of course. I thought I heard my dad somewhere in between. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Except for maybe one.

I assumed it was late at night or no one was around because it had been quiet for a long time. There was some shuffling and then a sigh.

"I…" a voice said with a familiar stutter.

Whoa. This had to be a dream because there was no way this could be happening. I was screaming in my own head, wanting nothing more than to just wake up.

"Rosalina, I…"

_Wake up! Wake up! I need to know that if this is real. Just wake up!_

The voice sighed again, unable to find the right words to say.

_No! No! No! Don't leave. Damn it! Why won't my eyes open?_

More rustling and a few moments of silence. Solemn footsteps approached the bed and I could feel his breath on my skin. That was impossible, though. This _had_ to be a dream.

"Sometimes, I still think I-" he cut himself off, something he used to do all the time. "I'm still singing for you."

My blood ran cold as his footsteps grew quieter. In a final attempt to regain complete consciousness, my eyes snapped opened to an empty room. It may have been a dream, but his voice, his breath, and his presence were all too real. I thought about what he had said, knowing very well that I had missed seeing Nat by only half a second.

_**AN:** This half-dream state is from a conversation I had with my older brother. We both surprised each other when we both said we experienced it. It was like a temporary paralysis just as you're waking up or something. You know when someone is go through your room or you can hear people talking, but your body doesn't respond in any way. It's really trippy, but kind of cool._


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

                There was a rather large commotion in the hospital that morning. News had gotten around that I wore up much earlier than they had expected me to. The staff began to tell me what happened, not realizing that I had heard much of it while I was supposedly out cold. Still, it was helpful to hear it for real. The staff told me that I had a mild concussion, one fractured rib, a dislocated shoulder, a battered knee, and a lot of bumps and bruises.

                They told me I was lucky.

                It was defiantly a lot to handle, and after a morning full of that, I was grateful for some time to get some true rest. I slept for real this time, and I was greeted with a pleasant surprise when I woke up. The first thing I remember was that my eyes were still closed and that I felt a hand holding onto mine, one that I once said was too soft and delicate to belong to a real man.

                I opened my eyes and found myself staring into Richie's chocolate brown eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be in Florida right now?"

                "Your dad called me and told me what happened, and I actually was able to catch a plane back that night. You just missed him by a few minutes, I think. He just left."

                _I just missed him?_, I thought to myself, _I seem to be doing that a lot lately._ Shaking off the strange memory of the night before, I turned my attention back to Richie. "I'll see him soon enough. Do you have any idea when they're letting me out of here?"

                "Soon, I think. They were just waiting for you to wake up. You surprised everyone by waking up after only three days. It's incredible."

                "That long?"

                He raised an eyebrow in skepticism at my reaction. It was then that he realized that he was still holding my hand and quickly pulled his back, his blush standing out like a neon light. Things like that were very typical for Richie, and I had missed that during the time he had been gone. As a matter of fact, I had missed that a lot for the past few months.

                That got me thinking. "Hey, Richie?"

                His blush quickly faded and he looked at me with dark circles under his blood-shot eyes. "Yeah?"

                "What have we been doing?"

                "What?"

                "You know. What have we been doing for the past few months?"

                He let out a low whistle. "A lot of things. Why?"

                "You really think we did that much? Name one meaningful thing we did that entire time."

                "Oh," he said, a bemused look on his face. "You meant meaningful things. In that case, then no, we haven't done anything at all."

                "Yeah," I sighed, sinking my head further into my pillow. I stared at the ceiling. "I miss my dust bunnies."

                "What?"

                I glanced back in him strangely; I hadn't realized I even said that. "This place is so clean that there are no specks of dust floating around like there are in my room. We've been running around so much lately that I haven't been home, and even when I am at home, I never have the time or energy just to stare at the ceiling to count the dust bunnies. I sort of miss that."

                "Is that what you used to do whenever I texted you saying I was bored?"

                "Yeah. Don't you miss anything like that?"

                Richie paused for a moment and his blush returned. "You're going to think it's cheesy."

                "Well, it's too late to hide it now. You might as well just say it," I smirked.

                "I just sort of miss hanging out with you. I miss sitting around talking about nothing at all and eventually just falling asleep on the couch or something. I just sort of miss the days when it felt like we had all the time in the world." He finished his statement by flashing me one of his million-dollar smiles.

                He had a point. When was the last time I saw one of those smiles? I know he had to have smiled countless times within the past few months, but when was the last time I actually took notice of one? When was the last time we were able to just sit down and talk until we got so tired that we stopped making sense? When was the last time I even got a good night's sleep?

                "Hey," Richie whispered softly, touching my shoulder and snapping me out of my trance. "This accident's really gotten you thinking, huh?"

                "It really has."

                "You're not the only one, you know."

                I smiled gratefully at him, acknowledging the silent promise we made to make better use of our time from now on. Something about what he had said struck me deep, however. My mind travelled back to the night before and the strange visit I believed I had.

                _Yeah, Richie,_ I thought silently. _We're not the only one thinking things over, are we?_


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

I had to wait a few days before the doctors would finally let me go home. It was mostly because they wanted to make sure that my shoulder was well enough for me to use crutches since my knee would be out for a while. They also told me that my ribs should be okay as long as I got plenty of rest and didn't do anything to aggravate the injury more. I could tell that they wanted me to stay in the hospital for a few more days just to make sure, but I was so anxious to leave that they let me go as soon as they could. My dad had managed to visit me two days ago, but he was working on the day I was released. This mean that Richie would be picking me up and that I would get to spend the whole day at his house.

Not like I didn't already spend all my time there to begin with.

It was a great car ride back to his house. It was a weekday so there were very few people on the streets. We rolled the windows down, blasting our music and singing at the top of our lungs. He gave me a piggyback ride into his house and we found ourselves constantly breaking out in laughter for no reason.

It felt like summer.

I was tired, injured, and on crutches, but I couldn't have been having more fun. After a few more moments of meaningless laughter, we finally settled down and decided to watch some television. By some strange coincidence, the channel we were on was airing one of the Naked Brothers Band's recent concerts. They were playing a new song from their most recent album, which I had chosen not to listen to.

This time, however, my eyes were glued to the TV. The guys had all grown up so much since I had the time to take a good look at them. They were playing the song "Your Smile," which I remember hearing about. It was said to be one of Nat's favorite songs and that he often felt sad when he played it.

The feeling seemed to be contagious, too. As I listened to the smooth ballad and soaring melody, my eyes remained fixed on the empty space beside the grand piano, to the right of where Nat's keyboard was supposed to be, and in front of David. That spot was empty.

My spot.

Even after all this time, they had not rearranged their positions, and my designated area remained unoccupied. It seemed strange and right all at the same time. Even as Nat played, I could see his eyes fix onto that single spot. _"I'm still singing for you,_" is what he had told me.

Richie gently put his arm around me in a sort of half-hug, snapping me from my trance. "Do you miss it?"

I nodded and leaned into his chest, accepting his small gesture of comfort. "More than I thought I would."

"Do you regret leaving?"

I had to take a moment to think about it, but there was no doubt in my head as to what the answer was. "No," I said, before pausing to correct myself. "At least, not yet."

He grunted in response. I guess even a smooth-talker like Richie couldn't always know the right things to say.

Knowing that he wasn't going to respond further, I continued, "It's given me a chance to try and live a normal life."

My head still on his chest, I could feel him sigh. "Normal, huh? Do you really consider this year normal? I mean, we've been running around so much that we can't even take a moment to breathe. Is that normal to you?"

"I guess not. We're going to have to change that, aren't we?" I said with a sly grin.

"I don't think we have much of a choice," meeting my grin with a devious glint in his eye. "Let's see. Since you're injured and don't have a car, I guess I'll have to stick around to give you rides to places. I won't be able to tour for a while."

"And I'm going to need to rest up a lot of I want to heal. It looks like I'll have to ease up on the extra work, huh?"

"It looks like it. Too bad, huh?" he continued, his voice dripping in sarcasm

"Yeah, that's starting to get annoying," I finally said, dropping the act. We both shared a quick laugh at our antics; sometimes I wondered how we could be so weird to each other and yet so normal in front of others.

Eventually, we wound down and turned off the television since we hadn't really been watching it anyway. I relaxed and leaned on him once again, deciding to take a moment to rest my eyes. "My dad said he wanted me to eat dinner with him tonight and they you're invited. We should get to my house by six."

"Alright."

With my eyes still closed, I let out a long sigh. "How much time do we have?"

I couldn't see his face, but I could almost feel the tender smile on his face. "As much as we want, Rosalina. We have all the time in the world."

* * *

_**AN:** The song "Your Smile" was played on the "Concert Special" episode. I found it funny how the video editting totally implied a Nat and Rosalina connection. The band was really into the song, though, and I liked it. I was just amused at all the angles and clips chosen on the special. I also noticed that the band members all have sort of designated spots whenever they perform, and its almost always the same. That's where the whole "Rosalina's spot" thing came up. As for the conversation with Richie and Rosalina, I had a similar conversation with someone myself. _

_I would also like to thank anyone and everyone who left me a review (or sometimes one review for every chapter). They really make me happy when I read them and I'm glad you guys are enjoying this as much as I love writing it. _


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

                I wasn't looking forward to going back to school. It wasn't that I hated it or anything, but the past few days had been so carefree. I was worried that as soon as I went back to school, I would get sucked back into the black hole of work Richie and I had promised to stay out of.

                I was also dreading the spotlight that would be following me. My name suddenly popped back into the headlines for the one week I was in the hospital. It was one of those "former celebrity has near-death experience" sort of things. I had always wondered why the public was so fascinated in celebrity lives after they "fell from grace," but it wasn't too big of a deal.

                Still, I knew that people's eyes would be on me as I hobbled down the hallways. It was a good thing that Richie was always around to assure me that everything was okay.

                Well, almost always.

                It was my first day back and I just wanted to be done with it. I could practically feel the eyes drilling into my back and hear the whispers echoing down the hall when students didn't think I could hear them. I was on my way to the last class of the day, the only passing period that I didn't see Richie. For some reason, this made me feel more vulnerable than usual; I guess I just got used to him being around me all of the time.

                Stupid dependency.

                Well, it wasn't all that bad. Class wasn't very far, even for a gimp like me. Then again, I seemed to have forgotten that the world was against me, and whenever I thought something was okay, things always went terribly wrong.

                I was only a few feet away from my classroom and, not surprisingly, all my books decided to come crashing to the ground. The fact that I was on crutches and couldn't easily just pick up my books made the situation all the worse. To top it off, my least favorite person had to come traipsing in on my misery. I had totally forgotten that we had our last class together.

                I didn't even bother to look at her when telling her off. "Look, Patrice, I'm not in the mood to-"

                It was then that I stopped myself, confused at what was going on. Part of me thought that I was going crazy because I could have sworn I saw Patrice Johnston help me pick up my books. Had the world gone mad?

                She stood up and so did I. The polite thing for me to do would've been to thanks her. However, I was a bit too suspicious of her to let my guard down just yet. "What's going on?"

                Still holding my books for me, Patrice immediately put on her trademark sneer, which I was surprised wasn't on her face earlier. "First, you were a rock star and had the gorgeous Nat Wolff drooling over you. Then you found Richie and stole his heart, too. Then you quit the band, and you're in the headlines for, like, ever. And just as the magazines began to get tired of talking about you, you go and almost get yourself killed. Five seconds later, you have the world clamoring to see if you're okay, and you're not even conscious to see it. You go back to school and the spotlight's still on you."

                "So? What's any of that have to do with you being nice to me all of the sudden?"

                I probably sounded like a bitch just then. I must have really been a messed up person, not even able to take a small act of kindness. Oh well. Patrice didn't seem to mind.

                "Well," she grinned in a non-devilish manner. "I can't let you have all the attention, can I?"

                I looked at her carefully for a moment. In that one second of silence, I saw a dozen emotions run through her eyes - amusement, sarcasm, and strangely enough, compassion.

                Her kindness was no joke.

                Seeing me confusion, she laughed aloud and winked at me. "Hurry up. We've got to get to class!" she chirped, carrying my books into the room for me.

                For some reason, I couldn't help but smile at her as she walked off with my textbooks. Patrice had matured a lot since the last time I actually had a chance to chat/argue with her, which had been almost a year ago. It was an incredible revelation for me. Time had been passed by so quickly and I had missed so much. Perhaps Patrice and I could never be friends; we were just too different. However, the idea of not hating her was rather appealing. Getting along with her? Now that was almost as good as it could get.

                Enemies to acquaintances. It was nice. Maybe old grudges just went away with time. Maybe everyone needed some time to themselves to realize their mistakes and become bigger people than they were minutes before. Maybe all we really needed was another chance to get it right.

                Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't too late for me to tie up all my loose ends, either.


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

My third year of high school was finally coming to a close. The end of the year meant cramming, finals, standardized test, pictures, yearbooks, and of course, prom.

Well, in my case, it meant watching everyone get excited about prom when the only thing on my mind was how sore my armpits were from being on crutched for so long.

Balloons, flowers, candles, and massive stuffed animals were being carried all over the place as people became more and more creative with asking their dates to prom. It made me smile a little bit; I should have been so jealous of all these girls getting dates to one of the most magical nights of their life.

But I wasn't. Maybe I couldn't go to prom in a gorgeous dress and share a dance with my dream date, but I could get pretty close.

Richie refused to go to prom without me, so we decided just to spend out prom night at the beach instead. It wasn't anything big or fancy, especially because I couldn't even get my cast wet. It was an impulsive decision, but that didn't mean I couldn't be excited for it.

The week went by in a flash. Finals were over and the teachers didn't bother making lessons plans anymore, knowing all too well that anything they said would simply get lost in all the prom hype. I was sitting in my last class of the entire year, feeling rather childish sitting in my chair and waiting for that bell to ring.

"You seem excited, Rosalina," Patrice said, amused by my behavior. "You have something planned for tonight? I mean, considering that you're not going to prom tonight or anything."

"Shut up, Patrice," I said playfully.

Patrice and I were on rather good terms nowadays. We never really talked much outside of class or anything, but we got along relatively well. She had changed a lot this year, going from class snob to a very talkative socialite; she no longer had to pretend to be one of the most popular girls in our class.

"No, really. Do you have plans tonight?"

"Yeah. I'm hanging out with Richie."

She could tell by my curt answer and embarrassingly obvious blush that I didn't want to talk about it too much. I just didn't want people thinking that we were anything more than just friends. The more I talked about it, the more likely people were to get the wrong ideas. That was just how eavesdropping worked, I guess.

Thankfully, Patrice was kind enough to change the subject. "Can you believe that we're going to be seniors next year?"

It wasn't the best topic for me, considering that I had almost no plans for the future, but it was better than gushing over Richie. "I know, right? It's so weird."

"Tell me about it. We only have one year left to do everything we ever wanted to do in high school. I don't want to walk out of here knowing that I've missed an opportunity to do something great or make something right, you know?"

I knew that all too well, but I decided to try and keep the conversation from getting to personal. "Yeah."

Despite my rather dull response, she continued talking. "I'm really glad we've patched things up between us. It's nice to know we can end the year on a good note." The bell rand and the class began to file out of the room. "Phew. Look at me," she grinned, "I'm getting all mushy and we still have one year to go. Sorry about that. Well, I have to get my hair done for prom. Have fun on your date!"

"Date…?"

Patrice ran off, leaving me alone to escort myself out of the room. She had always amazed me with her ability to talk for hours on end without needed any response whatsoever. She really had said a lot, but it actually meant something to me this time.

Richie was waiting for me at my locker, which was no longer mine since we cleared them out yesterday. He smiled and waved to me and I waved back. We had big plans for tonight, but they suddenly felt so small. I should have been thinking about tonight and living in the now. Instead, I found myself wondering about tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. Soon, I was thinking about what I was going to be doing a year from now. How was I planning on ending high school?

At first, I thought that the only thing I truly wanted before graduating was closure. I wanted to confirm with Nat and the guys that we were no longer angry at each other, and then exchange my goodbyes as I went on to bigger and better things. It wouldn't matter if we could even be considered friends anymore; I just wanted to get put an end to what was already over.

As I continued to think about it, however, I realized that it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough for me to just make everything okay. It wasn't enough to just patch things up and leave it alone. I wanted more than just to fix things. I wanted to be friends with them again. I wanted to be able to start a new chapter.

I wanted it all.

* * *

_**AN:** Sorry this took so long to come out. I've been ridiculously busy lately. Thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy it!_

_Also, for those of you are into this sort of thing and love Nat/Rosalina, check out the video at the bottom of my profile page. I'm rather proud of it, actually._

_And in response to Gracefulfalling's comment: I used to be against character/OC pairings, too. Then I started writing myself and found the true beauty of original characters. Thanks for giving this fiction a chance, though, and I'm glad you're enjoying it. Don't worry, though. Nat will come back in._


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Throughout the entire two years I had known Richie, there had never been an awkward moment. Even during that night we first spoke outside the tour bus, I didn't feel awkward at all. Richie was as smooth as silk even if he didn't realize it. Perhaps two years wasn't enough to form an everlasting bond with someone, but he was defiantly becoming someone I wanted to be close to for the rest of my life.

Within the first few weeks of our friendship, he had taught me the truth about passion and how sometimes the only choice you have is to hold onto what you care for most or have nothing at all. Then, when the world shunned me, Richie gave me a place to go and a shoulder to lean on. Throughout most of my sophomore year and the summer following it, I disappeared from public, hiding away at Richie's house almost every second of the day. No matter how bad I felt about things, Richie never let me forget how important I was. Together, we immersed ourselves into the busy void of our junior years, and together, we came out of it.

Richie Sheffield was my best friend.

Instead of going to prom, we were, as Patrice said, going on a date to the beach. We should have been having the time of our lives, singing songs at the top of our lungs and reminiscing about what an eventful year we had while watching the sun sink below the horizon.

But that wasn't the case. Not this time.

It felt awkward. It actually felt awkward to me. I kept trying to figure out why; maybe I was delusional or tired or going crazy or something. It just didn't make sense. "Richie" and "awkward" were not supposed to go together.

It wasn't just me, though. I could tell by Richie's nervous fidget that he was feeling a bit off. Also, his car window was all the way down, which was another telltale sign that he was anxious. He usually kept the window halfway up so that the wind wouldn't get in his face, but when he was feeling anxious, he became severely claustrophobic and needed to feel the wind at full force.

Both of us were feeling a bit strange today, and I wasn't really sure why. I had a few theories, but nothing was certain.

Richie finally parked the car and sat for a moment before turning off the ignition. We hadn't planned on actually walking onto the beach because crutches and sand never seemed to get along very well. Even with the windows down, however, I started to feel a bit claustrophobic, too. In the silence, I suddenly missed the mechanical hum of the engine. At least the noise could have filled up the crushing silence; now all that was left was the rhythmic sound of our breathing. Together, we watched the sunset, but I could not have felt more alone. Neither of us said a word or even looked at each other as the twilight set in.

It was enough to drive me completely insane.

Thankfully, Richie smashed the silence into a million pieces with a question just as awkward as the silence it broke. "Do you believe that things always turn out for the better?"

It was a weird question, but things were already weird enough, so I tried not to make a big deal out of it. "I'd like to think do. I think everything's changing anyway, but it's up to us to decide whether it's for better or for worse."

He continued to stare forward at his windshield as the stars began to appear on the rapidly darkening sky. "And do you think that we know a good thing when we see one?"

"Sometimes, I think so. There are always times when we are blind to the good and simply choose not to see the bad."

I dreaded where this was going. I feared what he was leading up to. It wasn't as though I never had feelings for him before; I honestly did have a small crush on him for a while, but it never got any deeper than that. There were many times when I thought I felt a spark between us, but we never mentioned it. This was the one topic we avoided at all costs.

Was he treading into waters that we had been running from all this time? If he did, would it really be such a bad thing? I just didn't know how I really felt. Did I really want to take the plunge with Richie or were we better off where we were now?

"And do you think it's possible to be handed a golden opportunity on a silver platter and turn it down because it wasn't what your heart truly wanted?"

"We can't take every chance thrown at us. There are times when we must pick and chose, then sacrifice all the rest. Just because something looks good on the outside doesn't mean it's valuable to everyone. The most priceless things can seem worthless to you if it was never desired to begin with. What someone considers ideal could be anything but for another. You know how I feel about that." He was more obviously distressed now and it was beginning to worry me. "What's going on, Richie?" Impulsively, I gently placed my hand over his.

Whether or not that last move was a mistake, I couldn't decide. Either way, we were suddenly very close to each other.

And, to be honest, it wasn't the first time he had kissed me, either. We had shared a few moments in the past, but it was nothing like this. It was softer, more cautious, as if both of us were holding something back.

Probably because we were.

I couldn't explain it. There he was, a boy that could only be described as perfect in every way, kissing me, and I felt nothing. He was cute, charming, sweet, shy, and bright, but I still felt nothing. Richie was the perfect fit for my idea of a perfect boyfriend, but it still felt like nothing to me. Any spark that we may have ever had in the past was gone, probably for good.

The kiss deepened for a moment – one single moment that, despite lacking romantic intent, we would cherish for the rest of our lives.

Tonight was supposed to be our prom night. It was a night for people to look back on their year and see how much they had changed; it was a night for people to fall in love. For us, however, it was a night to fall away from love, forever locking it into our hearts and engraving into our memories as that golden opportunity on a silver platter that was just not the right choice for us to make. If this had happened a few months ago, who knows what could have come from it? If we had taken this opportunity back then, chances were that we could have fallen in love. In only a few short months, things had changed for us, or, perhaps, we were the ones that changed.

No matter what happened, though, we would always be friends, and now it seemed as though that was as far as we took it.

Slowly, we broke off the kiss and he stared into my eyes, resting his forehead on mine. "Change is good, right?" he whispered.

"Yeah," I smiled. "Change is good."

* * *

_**AN**: I've been leading up to this chapter for a while and really enjoyed writing it. I'm sad to say that this story is finally coming to a close as the final few chapters are being written. I'm very proud of this story and hope that my future ones will be just as successfull. Speaking of which, I have two more NBB fics lined up for this summer. One of them is another drama-filled story that involves the entire band rather than just one character. The second, which I think may be a bit more enjoyable as a whole, is a more light-hearted fic revolving around none other than Nat and Rosalina. The trailer for the second one will be posted in my profile in a few days along with the next chapter update for WWLO._


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

My long awaited summer vacation had finally arrived. The doctors told me that I would be off my crutches and out of my cast within the first week. Thumbs up to that. The only problem was the physical therapy that came afterwards. My leg had been out of commission for so long that it could barely support my weight. Therapy was taxing and monotonous, but necessary if I ever wanted to walk normally again.

All-in-all, it wasn't too bad, but there were so many other things that I would rather have been doing instead. Richie couldn't be there for the most strenuous parts of the therapy because he started touring again. I didn't really mind since he had already turned down so many jobs to be with me these past several months. I wasn't about to let myself hold him back any longer.

But just because I knew it was better for him to go didn't mean that I didn't miss him when he was gone. Things were just so dull when he wasn't around. I found it almost eerie how often I texted or called him; I was practically obsessed.

Being alone with nothing to do was definitely not something I was fond of.

Within the first month of summer, the doctors were amazed at my progress. I had, after all, helped it along a little bit. As soon as I could, I started going on walks around the city. After I got a little better, those walks turned to jogs. It was a good way for me to keep myself occupied.

Two months after school ended, summer was almost over. Richie was signed up for a two-week tour, and I was alone, again. My last physical had deemed me completely back to normal and therapy was finally over. I hadn't grown out of the jogging habit, however, and I continued to do it every morning.

Following a well-rehearsed routine, I tightened my laces and took off at a steady pace, still grateful that I was able to make a full recovery after such a serious injury. After about one mile, I started to feel a bit winded, which was strange for me. Nevertheless, I pushed myself to go a bit further. This early in the morning, there were usually very few people on the streets. The few that were out were usually fellow joggers and we rarely paid much attention to each other.

But it wasn't every day that you passed by Alex Wolff on the street while on a morning jog.

We ran straight past each other, paused, and backed up to make sure we weren't hallucinating.

"Rosalina?"

"Alex?"

We took sever long moments staring dumbly at each other it all seemed too surreal.

It was Alex, alright. He had changed a lot, the most obvious being his height. The tiny drummer from two years ago was suddenly not so tiny. Taking a good look at him, I found it hard to believe that he was younger than me; Alex looked like he should have been in high school.

"Wow. This is awkward," he said, his voice already beginning to lose its boyish pitch.

"Yeah, it is. You out on a morning jog?"

"Yep. What about you?"

"Yeah."

"It's nice to see you back on your feet. How are you feeling?"

I was hoping that Alex wouldn't bring up the accident; the incident with his brother that night in the hospital was far from forgotten. Then again, Alex was just trying to be a friend.

"Everything's fine. I'm back to normal again. How are you? You know, you've gotten really tall."

"I'm aware of that," he grinner. Alex was still quite the charmer. "Things are going pretty good. We're heading out on a little mini-tour tomorrow. We'll be back by the time school come around."

"That's good. Well, I should be going. I have some place to be."

It was an obvious lie, and Alex could probably see right through it. It wasn't as though I didn't enjoy talking to him after all this time, but the experience was just too weird for me. Deep in my heart, I knew that I wanted to rekindle my friendship with the guys, but this meeting proved that I still wasn't ready to face them. Not yet.

Just as I was about to take off again, Alex made a point to stop me. "Hold up a second."

"No, Alex. I have to get going."

"It'll only take a minute." He was starting to get frustrated.

"No. I really have to-"

"I don't think so. Shouldn't we talk about what-"

"There's nothing to talk about, Alex," I snapped, more harshly than I had intended. "Goodbye."

I turned around, but he grabbed my shoulder and spun me around roughly; I had almost forgotten how much bigger he had gotten.

"You're lying, Rosalina! You're almost as bad as Nat!"

That had definitely caught my attention and I was no longer in such a rush to leave. "What do you mean?"

"He always acts like everything's fine when it obviously isn't. One second he's talking about patching things up and the next, he's ready to bite our heads off. It's so hard to move on when he can't just let it go. Don't you think this has gone on long enough, Rosalina?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I let it go already. I've moved and I'm happy."

"Really? Do you honestly expect me to believe that when you can't even look me in the eye right now?"

He was right, but he shouldn't have been. I thought I was happy. I thought I had already found my peace, but I couldn't even bare to look at Alex right now.

Alex sighed and his tone softened. "Look, Rosalina. I know we weren't the closest members in the band and we never talked that munch or anything, but even I can tell when you and Nat are lying to yourselves. I don't care what you guys say. Neither of you have moved on and neither of you are as okay as you say you are. You can talk all you want. You can say that you're ready to play nice again, but until you actually do something, it's nothing but a bunch of lies."

I still didn't say anything. My eyes were burning but I refused to shed a single tear in front of Alex. I guess I was just too stubborn and stupid to realize that everything he was saying was true, and that I hadn't put the past behind me.

"He misses you. The day you got into that accident, he went crazy. He wouldn't talk to us for days and he even went missing for a few days. We thought he just locked himself up in some room for a few days, but we couldn't find him anywhere. Wherever he was or whatever he was doing, we were just happy when he came back in one piece. He looked awful though. It was about four in the morning, a few hours before you woke up. Even after everyone found out you were fine, he still wasn't. Nat's a ghost without you. How much more proof do you need, Rosalina?"

"What makes you think that this is just about him? What about you and the rest of the guys?" It was a weak response, but my denial was still in control and I couldn't think of anything better to say.

"Are you kidding me? You know how the guys are! They cooled down a long time ago. Nat said the same thing to me as you did. You two aren't fooling anyone. This isn't about David or Thomas or Qaasim or even Richie, or whatever his name is. It's about you and Nat, and you both know it."

"So what do you want me to do about it?"

"Were you even listening just now? Did you not hear a word I just said? I don't care what you guys do! We're going on tour tomorrow. It's just another distraction for him. You're going to graduate high school after this year. If you think you can just vanish without a trace, without leaving a single memory behind, then you're wrong. I don't care what you do. I don't care if you ever speak to us again. This is between you and nat. Just stop lying to yourself. Don't say you're okay when you're not. Don't say there's nothing to talk about when it's the only thing there is to talk about. Don't say you're ready to move on when you're only standing still. Don't tell me it's over. Don't say you forgot. Quit lying to everyone and quit lying to yourself. It's not fooling anyone and it's high time that you two figured yourselves out. If you can do even one of those things then you're already five steps ahead of Nat. He's not ready to let this go and he'll never be ready to let you go."

Alex sighed and took a thoughtful glance at me, exhausted. He looked up at the sky, down to the sidewalk, and then at his watch. Finally, he sighed again and decided that he had said enough.

"I won't say that it was nice talking to you again, but I really am glad to see you up and running. Nat will be glad to hear it, too. That accident tore him up pretty badly. Given enough time, maybe a few years or so, everything will cool off and we can all forget about everything that happened, but if you guys want to end it well, then you don't have much time to do it. I just don't want either of you guys coming back to me in a few years whining about the missed opportunity you had as a kid to make things right. In the future, if we ever have a big Naked Brothers Band reunion, I want it to be because we wanted to have some fun, not because we felt the need to apologize for something as stupid as this. Whatever. It's up to you. I have to go pack. Goodbye, Rosalina."

He ran off, leaving me feeling alone, vulnerable, and foolish. Alex was smart, very smart. He had laid me out like a fish and set me straight in a way that even Richie had failed to do. I didn't know whether Alex could read me so well because I was that obvious or because he was going through the exact same thing with Nat. I didn't know which one I would have rather preferred, either.

All that mattered, though, was that he was right. No matter how much I said it, I hadn't let things go, and it seemed that, unless I did something about it, I never would. I knew that Nat was never one to make the first move, and I knew that if I wanted something to happen that I would have to be the one to do it.

But one question was holding me back. When was I going to stop just 'knowing' and start 'doing?'

* * *

_**AN:** Phew. This chapter was a doozy (I can't believe I just used that word). It was totally worth it, though, and I hope you guys think so, too. It's about time Alex got some lines in this story, huh?_

_As promised, the trailer for the new fanfic **Autumn Eyes** is done! You can check it out in my profile._

_Thanks to BeautifulxxDisasterx for the concrit. I do have a habit of getting ridculously insecure about things. I guess it's just another part of trying to get out of that "amateur" stage, right?_


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

My senior year of high school wasn't as mind-blowing as I heard it should have been. It was supposed to be the greatest and most memorable year of my high school career, but it definitely wasn't turning out that way. As a matter of fact, it was turning out to be just as dry, slow, and boring as every other year.

Right off the bat, I knew this year was going absolutely nowhere. A big storm had hit the area around Florida right before school started. Roads were blocked off and flights were cancelled until things could be sorted out, so anyone who happened to be there on vacation or whatever was stuck there. This included a large number of students, the Naked Brothers Band, and Richie. The entire first week of school, which was usually dull and monotonous anyway, was practically a waste of time as teachers waited for the mess to be cleared before giving out work or course outlines. It wasn't too big of a deal, though, and things were back to normal rather quickly.

And by normal, I meant just as boring as before.

It seemed like everyone around me was getting excited for college. I had already decided to take a year off after high school to go touring with Richie. College was always an option for me, but I wanted to see what else was out there. Besides, I was in no condition to be thinking about college. While everyone else was getting their lives together and putting them on a little application to be submitted to their dream schools, I was moping around town, trying to figure myself out. Everything Alex had said to be before summer ended was still bothering me. What was even worse was that I hadn't even started to take his advice. Despite everything that Alex said, I was still confining myself to a little bubble of self-pity and insecurity.

It didn't help when I started to get the feeling that Richie was keeping secrets from me. It was a convenient distraction from my other problems, and one that I willingly took in order to justify my unwillingness to face Nat. At least it kept me from being bored.

It started right at the beginning of the year, not long after he came back from his "extended vacation" in Florida. Since then, he had been giving me these strange looks, as if he were plotting against me or something. Whenever I asked him why he was looking at me so strangely, he said that he wasn't.

Which obviously meant that he was.

That's all it was, at first. It was just a look, and nothing more. It wasn't until second semester rolled around that I started to notice a few other things. First off, he was always using his phone when I wasn't around. He would always be talking or texting when I came by, and he shut his phone the instant he saw me, abruptly ending whatever conversation he was in. I didn't know who Richie was talking to or who he was texting, but I was guessing that it had something to do with the sly look he was always giving me.

Then there was the fact that Richie would often sneak out at night on those days that I decided to spend the night. There were a few nights that I was able to catch a glimpse of him slipping outside or back into the room in the middle of the night when he thought I was sound asleep.

It was all one big mystery, and I almost solved it once. Unfortunately, Richie was much better at sneaking around than I was at figuring him out.

Some time around the beginning of fourth quarter, I was walking back towards my locker, which happened to be next to Richie's this year. As I rounded the corner, I noticed that Richie was talking to someone else in front of our lockers. The two seemed to be in an intense debate, and Richie looked like he was losing. The boy's back was turned to me, so I couldn't see his face. However, his wife beater, height, curly hair, and bandana made me awfully suspicious.

The mystery boy left before I had the chance to walk in on their conversation. Richie saw me and put on a smile, but I could see the aftereffects of Richie's conversation with the other boy. He looked pale, sweaty, and unusually unsure of himself.

Deciding to get straight to the point, I just went on and said the first thing on my mind. "Were you just talking to Alex?"

Richie faltered. I had him. It was the first clue to this long-winded mystery, and I felt so proud of myself; I was on the verge of figuring it out. Too bad Richie knew exactly how to send my triumph to a screeching halt. Either he was a mastermind at changing the subject or he hadn't even been listening to me in the first place. Either way, his answer took me completely off guard.

"Will you go to prom with me?"

"What?!"


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Of course, I said yes to Richie. I had only ever been to prom once, and I was actually glad that I would be going this year since it was my last chance. In all honesty hoping that Richie would ask me eventually, but I hadn't expected it to be like that.

Spending the rest of my year in a sort of daze, I sort of regretted not getting more into the school year. It felt like one, big missed opportunity for me to make something out of my high school years. I had to admit that they were definitely not some of the greatest years of my life, as people often claimed them to be, and I only had myself to blame for that. I had seriously screwed everything up for myself, and there was nothing I could do to fix it.

But as I walked into the cheaply decorated gym for the last time in my life, wearing my dream dress with my head held high and Richie's arm around my waist, I felt strangely content.

I couldn't explain it. Just about everything had gone wrong these past four years, and yet I didn't feel any resentment to it. Perhaps it was the fact that Richie, my best friend and school hottie, was my date tonight or the obnoxious smell of marker and cheap paint on the posters that made me feel like I was floating.

I could practically feel the spotlight on us that night. There was little doubt in my mind that we were the hottest couple at the dance and people made way for us. It was absolutely incredible. Richie looked more than just cute in his tux; he was hot. He was the smoothest dancer I had ever known and together, we owned the floor. A fast song played and we tore the place up. A slow song played and everyone's eyes were on us. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he grabbed my waist and spun me around, my feet lifting right off the floor.

Everything was perfect. It was _our_ night, and it was perfect.

But the problem was that it shouldn't have been

Deep in my heart, I knew that it was all wrong. I shouldn't have been having this much fun when I knew that I had failed so miserably at ending things right. It was my last day of high school, and I had failed in tying up all my loose ends. Alex had shown me the light and I had so many chances. I just turned my back and ran away. This night was too perfect. Richie was perfect in every way and the best date anyone could have asked for, but I didn't deserve perfect. I didn't want perfect. I wanted awkward. I wanted clumsy and shy. I wanted soft-spoken and flawed.

I wanted Nat.

I had never intended high school to turn out the way it did. I had always imagined that my senior prom date would be Nat and that all the guys would be pointing and laughing at us all night long. We would pretend to be annoyed by their teasing, but we'd actually enjoy it.

Instead, I was left with Richie, the perfect date, and an empty feeling in my gut. I was content, but not happy. I was having fun, but not having the time of my life. I wasn't feeling nostalgic, like many of the other seniors there were; I was resigned and indifferent.

"Hey," Richie whispered in my ear as we rocked gently to another slow song. "You still in there?"

"Sorry. I sort of just spaced out."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong. You're a really great dancer."

"I didn't mean if there was something wrong with me. I meant with you."

"To be honest, I'm not sure. This all feels like a dream right now."

"A dream you want or one you don't?"

"Am I that bad of a liar?"

"No," he grinned, twirling me around and pulling me close. "I just know you better than that."

I smiled back at him. He really was the smoothest boy in the world and any other girl would die to have him.

"Well now seems like a good time to tell you," he said softly.

"Tell me what?"

"Remember that day I asked you to prom?"

"Yeah."

"Remember that guy I was talking to?"

"The one that looked like Alex?"

"Yeah. It was Alex. Now go back to the beginning of the year. Remember how a bunch of us were stuck down south for about a week before school started because of that storm?"

"I remember."

"Alright. So what happened was that when the roads were finally clear enough for us to leave, the Naked Brothers Band's tour bus was caught in a ditch. Even Tuffy couldn't get it out, so I helped them out. They all recognized me, and they actually had to think about it before accepting my help. After we got the bus out, Alex pulled me off to the side to thank me personally."

"What happened then?"

"He punched me in the jaw."

"What?" If it weren't for Richie's lead at that moment, then I probably would have fallen over in the middle of the dance floor.

"Alex has one mean right hook, and I guess you can say I deserved it after all the hell I caused everyone. After that, though, he asked for my help. We figured that neither you or Nat would have the guts to talk to each other again, so we'd have to make it happen. We stayed in touch all year long, trying to figure out a foolproof plan. This kid's amazing. He's six years younger than us and yet he's a total genius. He basically designed all the traps. I was just the trigger."

"Why would you even bother? I mean, we're graduating, Richie. It's not like we're going to see them again."

"Don't think you're going to get out of this that easily. We made sure that you guys weren't getting away. You're touring with me this summer, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we're signed for the Naked Brothers Band tour."

Richie and Alex made a good team. They had covered all the fields. I knew that if they didn't get me now, something else would be coming back at me seconds later.

"Alex and I were supposed to get Nat to ask you to prom, but last minute, Alex changed it up on me and told me to ask you. He said that being subtle wasn't reliable enough, so we just had to take the direct approach."

It was all starting to make sense, sort of. "What do you mean by the direct approach. I mean, how does you asking me to prom get me to talk to Nat?"

Richie didn't say a thing. He flashed me a million-dollar smile and winked. "I hope you enjoyed the smooth ride so far, because it's about to end."

He spun me around again and let go, sending me flying in a deliberate path. Little did I know that Alex wasn't too far away, shoving Nat straight into me.

Richie was right about one thing; their strategy was far from subtle.

"Hi," Nat gasped, slightly winded from our collision.

"Hi." This was unbearably awkward.

"Our work here is done." Richie walked over to Alex and they gave each other a quick high-five before slinking away to some corner of the room, leaving Nat and me to ourselves.

There was a long, painful silence that stretched between us before I finally decided to speak up. "Nat, I think we've been set up."

"Yeah," he said, sounding exactly the same as he did two years ago. Nat hadn't changed a bit. "But I'm glad they did it."

"Look, Nat, I-"

"I want to start over," he blurted out.

"What?"

"I want to start over. Don't you miss the old days? Don't you just want to go back and pretend none of this ever happened?"

"Well, I guess. I mean-"

"Can't we just start over, Rosalina? Can't we just go back to the beginning?"

What he was saying sounded so good to me, but I knew that it was impossible. "We can't turn back time, Nat. We can't just pretend nothing ever happened. That's not what moving on means."

I could see that he was disappointed. Maybe I had changed a lot these past few years, but he hadn't. Nat Wolff would always be that shy boy with those sweet chocolate brown eyes trying so hard to be something in my eyes. If only he knew that he didn't even have to try.

"Listen, Nat. I want nothing more than to forget it ever happened, but it's too late for that. It already happened and we have to get over it. We may never be able to go back to the beginning, but you know what, Nat?"

"What?"

"We can still pick up the pieces were we left off."

He smiled.

I had missed that big, goofy grin of his.

Neither of us had to say a word. The healing had already begun. It was going to be a long, slow process before we patched up all our wounds, but it was something we would be doing together. It was true that we could never go back to the start, but we could always find our way back to where had let it all go. We were going to start where we had left off, and I knew that everything was going to be okay.

We were going to be okay.

"Hey, Rosalina?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to dance?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

We tripped on the way to the dance floor. He was stiff and clumsy on his feet. We were laughing at ourselves the entire time, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

**_End._**

* * *

_**AN**: And its done! Richie and Alex, an awesome pair, huh? All that's left is the Author's Commentary, which is in the chapter after this. Be sure to check that out._

_And last, but definately not least, I have yet another piece of proof that I am completely insane. In my profile, you will find **yet another trailer** for **yet another story** that I will be releasing very soon. This June, I will be writing a non-Nat/Rosalina centered fanfic! I've been planning this for a while, and now seems like the perfect opportunity to release it. It's called **A Time for Goodbyes **and I hope you'll all enjoy it! It will be released very shortly after the airing of The Naked Brothers Band movie **"Polar Bears."**_


	32. Author's Notes

**Author's Notes**

Wow. That's just about all I really have to say. _Where We Left Off_ was my first real attempt at a serious fanfic, and it was a dream to write. Richie has quickly become one of my favorite original characters out of everything I've ever written. It actually makes me a bit sad to know that I won't be writing about him anymore.

Looking back at this story, I only have on major regret, and that was the car accident. **_BeautifulxxDisasterx_** was right in saying that it fell short in terms of significance. At the time I was writing it, it seemed to be a very important event in the story, but it just sort of faded into the background. I do have to say, though, that the plot could not have progressed without it. Although I would have liked to do more with it, it was still significant enough to turn the tide of the story.

The central idea of growing up and moving on has become almost a staple theme for me. I'm starting to see a trend in just about everything I'm writing. This is only cradled by the fact that I'll be going through my own changes this year since I will be graduating high school in about three weeks. The idea of change and adaptation is something I hold dear to my heart and probably will for a very long time.

Anyway, I've had an amazing time writing this and I've received far more support that I could have ever asked for. So I'd like to give a shout-out to:

**_BehindMyEyes_**, **_mysteree101_**, **_DPlover75_**, **_comet80_**, **_DustyLover_**, and **_Gracefullfalling_** for the reviews.

**_AngelKat515_**, **_KILLERGRIM23_**, **_AmIlEaNdWaVe_**, **_Tomboy800_**, **_Waterbook_**, **_xxxKiMxxx_**, **_DPlover75_**, **_Don't-Stop-Believin'_**, **_DustyLover_**, **_PrincessAirana_**, **_StormySummer_**, **_comet80_**, and **_hannahmontanafan81_** for the alerts and favorites.

And a special thanks to **_BeautifulxxDisasterx_** for all the support, concrit, and just about everything else for this story.

You guys all rock!

I hope everyone enjoyed the story and keep a look out for some of my other works coming out really soon.


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